LeBron James ‘supportive’ as Lakers make Luka Dončić face of franchise with contract extension, per report

Luka Dončić’s max extension with the Los Angeles Lakers makes him the new front-facing star of the team — not LeBron James, an aging superstar playing the final years of a future Hall of Fame career. Still, James remains “supportive” of the franchise’s move to lock in Dončić at three years and $165 million, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. 

“Luka Dončić is the face of this franchise,” Charania said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “So, this means that LeBron James, for the first time in his career, he’s entering a very interesting ground here. It’s a tough line these sides are trying to cross here because we’ve never seen this, a player in Year 23 is an NBA record. He’s about to be 41 years old in December. We’ve never seen a player play at this level for this long, and it’s a tough throughline to cross because, on one hand, the moment you make this trade for Luka Dončić, he’s your face of the franchise for the next 10 years. 

“And, so, LeBron James is supportive, he’s understanding where this Lakers organization is going toward,” Charania continued. “It’s going toward Luka Dončić. So, LeBron James himself has to make some decisions because, ‘how long do I have to play?’ That’s the biggest one of all. Is this the last year of his career, or does he have a couple of more years left?”

The Lakers traded for Dončić earlier this spring in a blockbuster deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. Dončić signing an extension now is a win for a franchise positioning itself to go after a co-star of sorts during Summer 2026, or perhaps using that financial flexibility to help them try to trade for a superstar to put next to Dončić. 

And looking deeper in the future for the Lakers, retaining max cap space in 2027 would mean Los Angeles could enter the Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić sweepstakes when both players are slated to become free agents.

Where does James fit into the equation? The four-time NBA MVP’s decision to pick up his $52.6 million player option in June came with the caveat that he was in “championship” mode and keeping a close eye on the Lakers’ moves in free agency. However, taking a near-max salary for the 2025-26 season limited the team’s sending power in free agency, and they ultimately settled on center Deandre Ayton as the most notable acquisition.

“He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all,” James’ agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN this summer. “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”

James will have a decision to make after the upcoming campaign. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game last season and still plays at an extremely high level, but the allure of signing with a contender for one last title shot appears paramount to playing out the stretch with the Lakers.