LeBron James has informed the Los Angeles Lakers he will play for a different team in the 2026-27 season, his agent Rich Paul told ESPN’s Shams Charania.James, 41, played in 60 games for the Lakers last season, his 23rd in the NBA. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game for Los Angeles. James will now be an unrestricted free agent for the fourth time in his career, and the first time since 2018, when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Lakers. He made $52.6 million last season as part of a two-year contract he signed with Los Angeles in 2024. Though James’ scoring average in 2026 was his lowest since his rookie season, he improved his play in the playoffs, averaging 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 10 postseason appearances. He led the Lakers to a first-round upset of the Houston Rockets before bowing out to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round, all without his co-star Luka Doncic. James, who will turn 42 in December, is one of the most decorated players in NBA history. He is a four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Finals MVP and four-time regular season MVP. He has been selected to 22 All-Star teams and has earned 20 All-NBA honors. Last season, he became the oldest player to average at least 20 points per game in the regular season.James’ tenure in Los Angeles was filled with ups and downs, however.He signed with the Lakers after his second stint with the Cavaliers, during which he made the Finals four straight times and won a championship in 2016. In his first season in Los Angeles, he played in only 55 games and the Lakers missed the playoffs.James and the team rebounded the following year, as Los Angeles acquired Anthony Davis and won a title in the Orlando bubble during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season.But over the last six seasons, the Lakers have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs three times, have missed the playoffs once and made the conference finals only once, during the 2022-23 season. That same year, James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing former Los Angeles great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James is now free to sign with any team in the NBA. Teams that he may be interested in include the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and the Cavaliers, according to multiple reports. With the Warriors, James could team up with his former rival Stephen Curry, whom he faced in the Finals four straight times from 2015 to 2018. Curry and James also won a gold medal together at the Paris Olympics in 2024.James also made the Finals four straight times with the Heat from 2011 to 2014, winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. Miami has already acquired a former MVP this offseason, reportedly agreeing to a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.James was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2003 and spent 11 years with the franchise across two stints. He is also an Ohio native.