LeBron James ‘Supportive’ of Lakers ‘Going Toward’ Luka Doncic

LeBron James is reportedly “supportive” of the Los Angeles Lakers’ commitment to Luka Doncic as the face of the franchise. Doncic signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Purple and Gold on Saturday.

LeBron James Set To Enter 23rd NBA Season

James, however, has plenty to think about when it comes to his own future. ESPN’s Shams Charania broke down what Doncic’s extension could mean for James on Monday’s edition of Get Up.

“So, Luka Doncic is the face of this franchise. So, this means that LeBron James, for the first time in his career, he’s entering a very interesting ground here,” Charania said. “It’s a tough line these sides are trying to cross here because we’ve never seen this, a player in Year 23 is an NBA record. He’s about to be 41 years old in December.

“We’ve never seen a player play at this level for this long and it’s a tough throughline to cross because on one hand, the moment you make this trade for Luka Doncic he’s your face of the franchise for the next 10 years. And so, LeBron James is supportive, he’s understanding where this Lakers organization is going toward.

“It’s going toward Luka Doncic. So, LeBron James himself has to make some decisions because, ‘How long do I have to play?’ That’s the biggest one of all. Is this the last year of his career or does he have a couple of more years left?”

James opted into his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season in June.

Had James declined his option, he would have been allowed to sign up to a three-year, $175.3 million contract. The future Hall of Famer has signed four contracts with the Lakers since 2018, with only one longer than two years.

2025-26 Could Be James’ Last Season With Lakers

Most importantly, the Lakers never announced James’ option pick up, which was highly unusual. This ultimately led to NBA insiders speculating that the four-time MVP would either request a trade or pursue a contract buyout.

Rich Paul, James’ agent, hinted that this upcoming season could be his client’s final campaign with the franchise by saying in a June statement to Charania that James “knows the Lakers are building for the future,” and the 21-time All-Star “wants to make every season he has left count.”

James is on the second season of a two-year, $101.4 million contract that he signed with the Lakers last July. He and Damian Lillard are the only NBA players with a no-trade clause in their contracts.