--- title: "LeBron James leaves the Lakers for the 76ers, calling it his 'last decision'" description: "After eight seasons in Los Angeles, LeBron James is joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal, a fraction of the roughly $53 million he made last season. James, 41 and entering a record 24th NBA season, says he nearly retired and calls this his final free-agency choice: 'I'm not going for money. I still want to compete.'" category: "Sports" category_url: https://herald.la/category/sports author: "Mei-Lin Tang" published: 2026-07-24T16:48:00.000Z updated: 2026-07-24T16:48:00.000Z canonical: https://herald.la/article/lebron-james-leaves-the-lakers-for-the-76ers-calling-it-his-last-decision tags: ["lebron-james", "lakers", "76ers", "nba", "free-agency"] --- # LeBron James leaves the Lakers for the 76ers, calling it his 'last decision' After eight seasons in Los Angeles, LeBron James is joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal, a fraction of the roughly $53 million he made last season. James, 41 and entering a record 24th NBA season, says he nearly retired and calls this his final free-agency choice: 'I'm not going for money. I still want to compete.' The LeBron James era in Los Angeles is over. James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, [ESPN reports](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49440164/lebron-chooses-76ers-sign-2-year-8-million-contract), ending eight seasons with the Lakers and, at 41, chasing one more title in a city that is not this one. ## The deal The terms are the first surprise. James signed a two-year contract worth $8 million, with a player option, a steep discount from the roughly $53 million he earned with the Lakers last season. For a player who has been among the highest-paid in the sport for two decades, taking $8 million is a statement in itself, and he framed it as exactly that. "I'm not going for money. I'm not going for family," he said, according to [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-explains-76ers-decision/). "I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship." He is entering his 24th NBA season, a record, and he did not hide how close he came to not playing it at all. "I thought I was done when the season ended," he said. "I was pretty sure I played my last game." He is calling this his "last decision," language that reads as a signal the end is genuinely near. ## Why Philadelphia The Sixers were not an obvious landing spot until they became one. Philadelphia acquired Jaylen Brown, and, alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, a group of stars actively recruited James. Maxey, a fellow client of James's Klutch representation, reportedly treated him like a "big brother" in the pitch. New basketball-operations chief Mike Gansey, a former Cavaliers executive, and team president Bob Myers helped close it. James chose the Sixers over reunions with Cleveland and Miami and over the Golden State Warriors. Pennsylvania's governor declared a "LeBron James Day." The Sixers, who last won a title in 1983 and went 45-37 last season, are suddenly a championship conversation. ## What it means for Los Angeles For this city, the story is the departure. LeBron James has been the face of the Lakers, and one of the faces of Los Angeles sports, since 2018, the biggest name on the biggest local franchise, a fixture at Crypto.com Arena and in the city's self-image as a basketball town. His leaving is the kind of thing that reorders a franchise and a fan base. It is worth being clear-eyed rather than sentimental about what the Lakers lose and keep. They lose a 41-year-old in the twilight of his career, not the MVP version of James, and they gain roughly $53 million in cap flexibility and a future no longer built around managing his minutes. There is a real basketball argument that this is not a disaster for the Lakers so much as a turning of the page. But pages like this one do not turn quietly, and for many Angelenos the plain fact underneath the analysis is the one that stings: LeBron is going to play his last basketball somewhere else. James signed off with a nod to the cities that shaped him: "Thank you LA. Miami I'll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!" The Herald will cover what the Lakers do next, and how James's final act plays out in Philadelphia. ## Sources - [LeBron chooses 76ers, calls it his 'last decision'](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49440164/lebron-chooses-76ers-sign-2-year-8-million-contract) - [LeBron James explains his decision to join the 76ers and how close he came to retiring](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-explains-76ers-decision/)