LeBron James will return to the Los Angeles Lakers for his 23rd NBA season.

James picked up a $52.6million player option with the Lakers for the 2025-26 season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Sunday was the deadline for James, and the NBA's career scoring leader decided to return to Los Angeles after this past season ended in disappointing fashion.

The Lakers were expected to contend for an NBA title after landing Luka Dončić in a blockbuster trade in February, but they won just one play-off game and were quickly ousted by the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.

James injured his MCL in Game 5, but he is expected to be healthy for the start of the 2025-26 season, as he and Doncic will look to lead the franchise to an 18th NBA title.

Breaking: Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James is opting into his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN.

Paul adds: LeBron "knows the Lakers are building for the future ... but he values a realistic chance of winning it all." pic.twitter.com/q5mT1O2R35

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2025

James will turn 41 years old in December, but is still playing at an elite level.

In 70 games last season, he averaged 24.4 points, a team-high 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds. He was named to his 21st All-Star Game and earned All-NBA honours for a 21st time. No other player has more than 15 All-NBA selections.

The 2024-25 season was James' seventh in Los Angeles after two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers sandwiched around a four-year tenure with the Miami Heat.

In his second season with the Lakers, James led Los Angeles to its 17th championship inside the NBA Bubble in October 2020.

James made history last season when he was joined on the court by his son, Bronny - making them the first father-son duo in the NBA.

The Lakers drafted Bronny in the second round of the 2024 draft, and he averaged 2.3 points, 0.8 assists and 0.7 rebounds in 27 NBA games, spending most of his time in the G League.