NBA
When was the last time LeBron James was in free agency?
The 39-year-old has a player option on his current deal with the LA Lakers. One more year with the team would net him another $51.4m.
LeBron James has done a lot in his stellar NBA career. He’s racked up 1492 professional games, four NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player awards and, of course, a record 40,474 points.
And yet, as he heads into game four against the Denver Nuggets, there is some speculation that LeBron could be approaching the end.
The 39-year-old has looked weighed down by the underperforming Lakers for much of the season and he could choose to end his contract with the team. In August 2022 he put pen to paper on a two-year contract, with a player option for a third year, worth a guaranteed $97.1 million. This means that LeBron could enter free agency for the first time since 2018, when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Lakers.
What is a ‘player option’ in a contract?
Although the two-year deal from 2022 is set to expire at the end of this season, LeBron James does have a ‘player option’ to trigger an extension. This means that there is a third year written into the deal, but it is up to him to decide whether he wishes to activate it.
The extra year would bank him a further $51.7 million, a tempting prospect even for a man of LeBron’s incredible personal wealth. He has until 29 June to decide whether he wants to opt in to the third year; if not, he will become a free agent.
Will LeBron choose LA Lakers, free agency, or retirement?
LeBron James remains a major draw in NBA and would likely have a number of suitors if he chooses to extend his career beyond 2024. But despite his incredible talents age is catching up on the four-time MVP and he recently admitted that he is nearing the end.
“Not very long,” he told reporters recently, when asked how long he plans to stay in the NBA. “I’m not gonna play another 21 years, that’s for damn sure. But not very long. I don’t know when that door will close as far as when I’ll retire. But I don’t have much time left.”
The Lakers’ prospects for the coming seasons do not look particularly promising and, aged 39, Lebron James does not have the time to wait for the team to improve. He may decide to prolong his stellar career in a bid to share a court with son Bronny, who recently declared for the draft, but his time is certainly running out.