LeBron James is exercising his $52.6 million option with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2025-26, further confirming that he will become the first player in NBA history to play a 23rd season, a person with knowledge of the decision said Sunday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither James nor the team announced the decision publicly. ESPN and The Athletic were among those to first report the decision. James, who recently returned to on-court workouts after taking several weeks to recover after spraining a knee ligament in the Lakers’ final game of this past season’s playoffs, told the AP earlier this month that he expected to be ready for training camp. That was an obvious sign he planned on returning for a 23rd year, one in which he’ll break a tie with Vince Carter for longest NBA career by a player. “I have a lot of time to take care of my injury, my knee, the rest of my body and make sure I’m as close to 100 per cent as possible when training camp begins in late September,” James said in that interview. If any doubt existed even after that about James, the NBA’s oldest current player, coming back for at least one more season, it’s gone now. He had until Sunday afternoon to make his decision on the option, one that pushes his career on-court earnings to about $580 million. This coming season will be his first full year with Luka Doncic as a teammate. Doncic was traded to the Lakers from Dallas in February, but the team — which entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed in a loaded Western Conference — still fell in Round 1 to Minnesota. James turns 41 in December. He’s been an All-NBA pick in 21 of his 22 seasons in the league, including a second-round nod this past season. No other player has more than 15 All-NBA selections. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists this past season. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader has appeared in 1,562 regular-season games, 49 behind Robert Parish’s mark of 1,611 — the most in league history. If healthy, James would obviously figure to break that mark this coming season. Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
