According to a joint report by ESPN reporters Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst, the Los Angeles Lakers plan to part ways with LeBron James in 2026. They no longer regard James as the long-term core of the team and will not offer him a contract after the 2025/26 season.

James will celebrate his 41st birthday in December. In the 2024/25 season, he played 70 regular season games for the Lakers, contributing 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.0 steals, with a shooting percentage of 51.3% and a three-point shooting percentage of 37.6%.

In the playoffs, James played a total of 5 times, averaging 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.8 blocks and 2.0 steals per game. However, he suffered a grade 2 sprain of his left knee ligament in the fifth game between the Lakers and the Timberwolves, and the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

In June this year, James confirmed the execution of the player option worth $52.63 million for the 2025/26 season. However, his influence on the Lakers has gradually weakened with his age.

According to TMW's previous report, the Lakers management secretly met with Luka Doncic and his team at Craig's Restaurant on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, Los Angeles in May this year. During the dinner, Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick elaborated on Doncic's long-term plan to build the team around him.

This move undoubtedly sends a very clear signal to the outside world: Doncic will be the absolute core of the Lakers in the future, and James is expected to officially retreat to the second line in the spring of 2026.

Over the past year, the Lakers have repeatedly sent out signals of changing their core through their actions. Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst also pointed out in their report that the Lakers did not inform James in advance of the major deal involving Anthony Davis, and the same was true before the equity change. More importantly, the Lakers management has not yet started any contract renewal negotiations with James.

According to the labor agreement, Doncic can sign a four-year, $223 million maximum contract extension with the Lakers starting August 2, or choose a three-year, $160 million short-term contract. The Lakers management has made it clear that it will do its utmost to push Doncic to complete the contract extension and build a new generation of championship-contending lineup around him.

As for whether the 2025/26 season will be James' last season in the NBA, it will depend entirely on his final decision. In any case, the spring of 2026 has been regarded as the time node for the end of the "LeBron era" in the Lakers.