LeBron James has announced he will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers next season for what he says will be his final contract in the NBA.
The 41-year-old, the highest points scorer in the history of the league, left the Los Angeles Lakers after eight years last month.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat were also rumoured to be in the running for the four-time NBA champion.
“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energise a new fanbase and start this incredible journey one last time,” James said on X., external
James has won an NBA title with all three teams he previously played for. He won two with Miami, who earlier this week mistakenly posted a link to an ‘introductory press conference’ for James.
A Heat spokesperson told Reuters, external the video was posted in error by staff who were preparing for the possibility of James rejoining the team he played for between 2010 and 2014.
Either side of that Miami stint, James had two spells with Cleveland, who drafted James in 2003 and are based near his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
“Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always [be] home,” James added.
James helped the Cavs become NBA champions in 2016 and joined the Lakers in 2018, claiming another NBA title two years later.
He has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player four times, all between 2009 and 2013, and has been an NBA All-Star the last 22 seasons running.
Why does James want to keep playing?
James said after last season that he was “pretty sure I [had] played my last game” but realised “I still truly love this game and I have more to give”.
ESPN has reported that James has signed a two-year contract, with a player option for the second year, worth $8m (£6m). His average salary with the Lakers last season was $50.7m (£38m).
James added: “I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?
“I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.”
