LeBron James has confirmed it all: he will be back for a 22e season in the NBA, and this one could well be special since the best scorer in the history of the circuit could share the floor with his son Bronny on the Los Angeles Lakers.
James has agreed to a two-year contract to remain with the Lakers, a person familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday. The second year of the deal would be at James’ discretion and means he could become a free agent next summer, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been publicly announced.
ESPN reported that the Lakers and James’ agent, Klutch Sports president and CEO Rich Paul, have agreed to a salary slightly below the maximum James could have earned — a move that could allow the California team to preserve some salary flexibility going forward.
Regardless, most experts expect James to receive around $50 million next season, bringing his career total earnings to around $530 million and making him the first player in NBA history to earn more than $500 million in salary alone.
So it will be the 22nde James’ season in the NBA, allowing him to join Vince Carter at the top in that regard. The Lakers selected Bronny James in the second round of the NBA draft last week, opening the door to the first father-son duo in league history.
James will celebrate his 40the birthday in December and averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists last season – when he was the oldest player in the league.
James is not only the NBA’s all-time leading scorer (40,474), but he is also fourth in assists (11,009), sixth in games played (1,492) and eighth in three-pointers made (2,410) and turnovers forced (2,275).