LeBron James’ run with the LA Lakers is over, and the numbers tell the story of an eight-year stretch that reshaped the franchise’s record book.
James has informed the team that he will not be signing a new contract, bringing an end to his longest stay with any NBA team. He arrived in the 2018 offseason after four years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, following the path that had already taken him from Cleveland to Miami in 2010.
With the Lakers, James added another championship to his résumé, winning his fourth NBA title in 2019/20. That season has sometimes been labeled a “Bubble championship” because of the Covid restrictions, but it still counts as a ring on his résumé. This past season, though, the Lakers were swept 4-0 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs.
Across his Lakers tenure, James played 479 total games and piled up 12,402 points, 3,808 assists and 3,680 rebounds. Even at 41, he was still producing at a high level in his final season with the team, appearing in 60 games and helping the Lakers to a 53-29 record while averaging 20.9 points per game.
His best scoring year in purple and gold came in 2021/22, when he averaged 30.3 points per game. His sharpest shooting season came in 2023/24, when he hit 54 per cent from the field.
James also kept climbing the all-time ladder while wearing a Lakers jersey. In 2023, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
A year later, he became the first player in league history to go beyond 40,000 career points. His career total now stands at 43,440.
The Lakers were far better with James on the floor. Since 2018, they went 287-192 (.599) with him in the lineup, compared with 70-86 (.449) when he was absent.
Anthony Davis was the teammate James leaned on most during his Lakers years after arriving in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019. The pair powered the Lakers to the title before Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in early 2025.
James also left his mark in franchise history in a few more places. He became one of only two players in Lakers history to make 1,000 career three-pointers for the team, joining Kobe Bryant.
He moved into the top five on the franchise assists list, passing Michael Cooper, and he now ranks sixth on the Lakers’ all-time scoring list, behind Bryant at No. 1.
There was one more milestone that stood out from his Lakers run: in 2024, LeBron James and his son Bronny James became the first father-son duo to play for the same NBA team. They later became the only pair to combine for points, creating the first ever father-son assist in March 2026.
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