LeBron James to leave Los Angeles Lakers and enter free agency

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-lebron/nuIVxFJk/"]LeBron[/a] spent eight campaigns with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-lakers/ngegZ8bg/"]Lakers[/a], during which he won a title in 2020. He has been heavily linked to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-state-warriors/SxUtXqch/"]Golden State Warriors[/a], who are also said to be eyeing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/washington-wizards/W6vGWPsn/"]Washington Wizards[/a] big man and LeBron's former Los Angeles teammate, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/davis-anthony/zTKzS6X9/"]Anthony Davis[/a].[/p][p]According to reports, the Lakers wanted to keep LeBron, but the four-time NBA champion informed them he would be looking for a new team.[/p][embed guid="b5aad75a-ac75-4c75-b32a-10d93a5b58e3" url="https://x.com/Lakers/status/2071999961500373081" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history. We will always be thankful for his eight years with the Lakers - including the title he led us to in 2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances and the countless records he broke in purple and gold[/b]," said Lakers governor Jeanie Buss. [/p][p]"[b]We wish him all the best in the future, both on the court and off. He will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family[/b]."[/p][p]The Lakers suffered a 4-0 defeat to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/oklahoma-city-thunder/0fHFHEWD/"]Oklahoma City Thunder[/a] in the Western Conference playoff semi-finals last season, and were dumped out of the first round in back-to-back years prior to that. At 41, LeBron wants to play for a team that can compete for the title.[/p][p]LeBron averaged 20.9 points per game, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds during the regular season, while shooting 51.5% from the field. However, his record 21-year All-NBA run came to a halt as he played in just 60 games due to injury - five fewer than the required mark needed to be eligible.[/p][image alt="LeBron regular season stats" id="fd23bbd2-dd29-405b-98c6-547bd578f71a" credit-line="LUKE HALES / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP" guid="ea8df713-c64a-4010-b650-65fd17326e3b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The NBA free agency negotiating window gets underway on Wednesday at 00:00 CET (Tuesday, 18:00 ET).[/p][infobox id="a9570b4f-da31-4683-ae60-9f920c0540d9" /]