James inks record 2-year extension

LOS ANGELES • Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James has agreed a two-year extension deal with the team worth US$97.1 million (S$134.1 million), ESPN reported on Wednesday.

His agent Rich Paul said the contract includes an extension option for another year in the 2024-25 season, in which James could see his 17-year-old son Bronny become a National Basketball Association (NBA) rookie.

James, who had been entering the final season of his current deal worth US$44.5 million, turns 38 in December and is therefore limited to signing a two-year extension as he will be 38 or older when the deal expires. The contract could be worth US$111 million if the NBA salary cap makes a major jump for the 2023-24 campaign.

The extension will make the four-time NBA champion and Most Valuable Player the highest-earning player in NBA history with US$529 million in career guaranteed money, overtaking Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant.

In June, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at US$1 billion, making him the first active NBA player to reach the status.

James has said he wants to play through the 2024-25 season for the chance to play alongside his eldest son, a top high school prospect in Los Angeles.

"Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year," he told The Athletic's Jason Lloyd in February.

In the same month, the two-time Olympic gold medallist also pushed back on speculation that he was looking to move on from the underperforming Lakers, saying he intended to stay with the team for as long as he can play.

Long-time NBA reporter Marc Stein has suggested that James does not wish to leave Los Angeles, saying that he and his family are "entrenched" in the city.

The 17-time champions Lakers, who won their most recent NBA title in 2020, missed out on the play-offs last season, despite James averaging 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Injuries limited him to 56 games.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE