Inside LeBron James's Complicated Lakers Legacy as He Leaves for a 24th Season
LeBron James's time with the Los Angeles Lakers has concluded. On June 29, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul notified the team that James will not be playing in Los Angeles for the 2026-27 season. He won one championship, broke multiple all-time NBA records, and eventually clashed publicly with the team's owners.
James signed with the Lakers as a free agent in 2018 after leaving Cleveland and will now pursue an unprecedented 24th NBA season elsewhere. Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement that the organization would always be thankful for James's eight seasons, singling out "the title he led us to in 2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances" and the countless records he broke in purple and gold. James, she added, will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family.
James has yet to choose his next team and cannot officially sign until the NBA's moratorium ends on July 6.
Golden State, Cleveland, and Miami are the top landing spots, linked to Draymond Green declining his option for cap space, James's original team, and the team he won two of his four championships with.
There is a “growing belief” from teams competing to sign LeBron James that him returning to the Cavs is the “scenario to beat,” per @TheSteinLine.
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 4, 2026
(via https://t.co/XrZH2Iq3Bw) pic.twitter.com/E1Lt2d0I0i
A Relationship With Ownership That Frayed Behind the Scenes
James's late tenure was not free of controversy as far as his working relationship with the Lakers. In January, ESPN's Baxter Holmes reported that Buss expressed private concerns about James's "outsized ego" and Klutch Sports' attempted influence on the organization.
The conflict originates from the 2021 trade involving Russell Westbrook and Buss's 2022 trade idea for James. Tensions rose after Paul’s podcast comments suggesting the Lakers trade Reaves, viewed as Paul speaking for James.
Buss described the portrayal as "extremely unfair" to James. Additionally, Paul denied the report's validity, saying that faults are found even in smooth relationships, and pointed to the 2020 championship as proof of success.
Fox Sports host Nick Wright said the report contributed to a "perfect storm" influencing James's decision to leave, implying he was upset the Lakers had tired of him. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported James, Buss, and Paul were trying to reconcile, despite James already informing the team he was leaving.
One Championship, Four Rings
James averaged 25.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.9 assists over 479 regular-season games during his eight-season tenure with the Lakers. He ended his stint ranked in the top 10 in franchise history in points, assists, field goals, and 3-pointers, alongside legends like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kobe Bryant.
In 2020, James guided the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship in the Orlando bubble and was named Finals MVP. James became only the fourth player to win titles with three different teams: Miami (2012, 2013), Cleveland (2016), and the Lakers (2020).
Compared to the Showtime and Shaq-Kobe eras, winning just 1 championship over 8 seasons seems modest. The team had an early first-round exit in 2021 and missed the 2022 playoffs, but a trade deadline reorganization led them to the 2023 Western Conference finals.
Much of what James accomplished with the Lakers had nothing to do with winning games.
James set the NBA's all-time regular-season record for total points on Feb. 7, 2023, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar's record. In March 2024, James hit 40,000 regular season points, and by March 2025, reached 50,000 points (including playoffs). This March, he broke Abdul-Jabbar's career field-goal record in Denver. He finished the 2025-26 season with 43,440 points. All of this was done in a Lakers uniform.
James' team was the first to win the NBA Cup, leading the Lakers over Indiana in the 2023 in-season tournament final.
Luka Dončić Trade Changed Everything
On February 2, 2025, the Lakers pivoted away from James before moving on from him.
The change in direction occurred when GM Rob Pelinka executed a three-team trade, sending Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick to Dallas in exchange for Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris.
Dončić, 25, had recently led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and was about to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax extension before a trade rendered him ineligible. The trade changed the NBA drastically.
Dončić was the Lakers' new franchise player as the team transitioned away from James over the past two seasons.
James's 23rd NBA season was record-breaking and unique. However, beginning the season dealing with sciatica caused him to miss the Lakers' first 14 games, ending his streak of 21 consecutive All-NBA selections.
By March 2026, with James, Dončić, and Reaves all healthy, the Lakers achieved a 15-2 record, establishing themselves as strong contenders in the final weeks. Dončić suffered a long-term injury in early April that wiped out his entire postseason, leaving James and a short-handed Lakers team to upset Houston in the first round before running into the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept the series 4-0. James closed his Lakers career, for now, with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 115-110 Game 4 loss on May 11. "I'm not looking at my year as a disappointment, that's for damn sure," James said afterward.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it was amazing what James was still doing on the floor at his age. James also spent his final two Lakers seasons playing alongside his son, Bronny James, whom the team drafted in 2024 and signed to a fully guaranteed contract for 2026-27, even as his father departed.
What Comes Next
James will turn 42 in December and will begin his 24th NBA season, regardless of his team, further solidifying a longevity record unmatched in league history.
Any team signing him gains a player who can perform at nearly starter level into his 40s, with a complex legacy: a bubble championship, record achievements, conflicts with the Buss family, and the weary influence of the Klutch agency Paul controls.
The Lakers will highlight Dončić and Reaves as emerging stars to demonstrate their competitiveness after the King's era ends in Los Angeles.
The King did deliver, but during his reign Los Angeles found out there is some chinks in the armor.
