Pelinka: ‘No one plays the game like LeBron James’

It’s official!

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced they have re-signed forward LeBron James.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s a two-year, $104 million maximum deal, which includes a player option and no-trade clause.

With the deal complete, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer will play his 22nd season with his son, Bronny James, who the Lakers selected in the second round of this year’s draft.

The upcoming season will mark the 39-year-old’s seventh season with the Lakers, which will match the longest consecutive stretch with any franchise during his career (Cleveland, 2003-10).

The four-time league MVP currently stands in the top 10 all-time in field goals made (second), free throws made (third), assists (fourth), steals (eighth), and 3-pointers made (eighth).

Lakers vice president of basketball operations, Rob Pelinka, believes Los Angeles has a championship-caliber team.

“No one plays the game like LeBron James, and his commitment to continuous performance and long-term sustained excellence is unmatched,” Los Angeles Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka said in a press release. “Alongside fellow team captain Anthony Davis, LeBron and new Lakers head coach JJ Redick will together lead a championship-caliber team that will play with great pride every time they take the floor.”

In 2023-24, James appeared in 71 games (all starts), averaging 25.7 points on 54.0 percent shooting from the floor and a career-best 41.0 percent from long distance, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in 35.3 minutes. He extended his league record to 20 consecutive campaigns averaging 25+ points and stretched his NBA record double-digit scoring streak to 1,222 games.

A four-time NBA champion, James has 8,162 career points in 17 postseason appearances, the most in NBA history. The Akron, Ohio, native currently ranks in the top 10 in postseason field goals made (first), steals (first), free throws made (first), assists (second), 3-pointers made (third), rebounds (fourth), and blocks (10th).

The Lakers, who lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Nuggets last season, will be a quality team this season. However, as they are presently constructed, they are probably not a championship team, but we’ll see if they can make a few moves to make that happen.