LeBron excited by Lakers' revamped roster, 'not worried' about future - ESPN

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — When LeBron James walked onto the court for the Los Angeles Lakers' media day Monday in his gold No. 23 uniform, it signaled a pair of firsts for the 40-year-old superstar.

First off, by entering the 2025-26 season, James will be the only player in NBA history to play 23 seasons, breaking a tie for league longevity with Vince Carter. And secondly, for the first time in James' eight seasons with the Lakers, he is coming into a season on an expiring contract.

Despite the unique circumstances — a 21-time All-Star coming off an All-NBA Second Team selection and playing with no financial commitment from the team down the road — James said his contract situation will not affect his performance this season.

«It will have no impact,» James told ESPN. «I'm super excited about the challenges and the excitement of our team. We added some new guys. We got another year under our belt with our coaching staff from last year. Got a full year with Luka [Doncic] and another year with the guys that I've been with. So super excited about that.

»And I'm not worried about contracts at this point in my career. That doesn't bother me at all. Super humbled to even have it, have a contract still and be able to play the game that I love still at this part of my career and take full advantage of it."

James exercised his $52.6 million player option for this season in June. At the time of the contract decision, his agent and CEO of Klutch Sports, Rich Paul, told ESPN's Shams Charania that James «wants to compete for a championship» and that «he knows the Lakers are building for the future.»

Added Paul: «We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at