LeBron: Contract status 'doesn't bother me at all'

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- When LeBron James walked onto the tribunal for the Los Angeles Lakers' media time Monday successful his golden No. 23 uniform, it signaled a brace of firsts for the 40-year-old superstar.

First off, by entering the 2025-26 season, James volition beryllium the lone subordinate successful NBA past to play 23 seasons, breaking a necktie for league longevity with Vince Carter. And secondly, for the archetypal clip successful James' 8 seasons with the Lakers, helium is coming into a play connected an expiring contract.

Despite the unsocial circumstances -- a 21-time All-Star coming disconnected an All-NBA Second Team enactment and playing with nary fiscal committedness from the squad down the roadworthy -- James said his declaration concern volition not impact his show this season.

"It volition person nary impact," James told ESPN. "I'm ace excited astir the challenges and the excitement of our team. We added immoderate caller guys. We got different twelvemonth nether our loop with our coaching unit from past year. Got a afloat twelvemonth with Luka [Doncic] and different twelvemonth with the guys that I've been with. So ace excited astir that.

"And I'm not disquieted astir contracts astatine this constituent successful my career. That doesn't fuss maine astatine all. Super humbled to adjacent person it, person a declaration inactive and beryllium capable to play the crippled that I emotion inactive astatine this portion of my vocation and instrumentality afloat vantage of it."

James exercised his $52.6 cardinal subordinate enactment for this play successful June. At the clip of the declaration decision, his cause and CEO of Klutch Sports, Rich Paul, told ESPN's Shams Charania that James "wants to vie for a championship" and that "he knows the Lakers are gathering for the future."

Added Paul: "We recognize the trouble successful winning present portion preparing for the future. We bash privation to measure what's champion for LeBron astatine this signifier successful his beingness and career."

L.A. finished arsenic the No. 3 effect successful the Western Conference past play and was upset by the No. 6-seed Minnesota Timberwolves successful the archetypal circular of the playoffs successful 5 games.

Doncic, erstwhile asked by ESPN what would represent a palmy Lakers season, said: "Winning a championship. That's the goal."

When posed the aforesaid question, James had a much granular answer. "That we're elaborate each day. We person to beryllium detailed. And the Western Conference is simply a gauntlet. The league is pugnacious and we person to beryllium elaborate connected everything, connected each facets of the game, some offensively and defensively. We person to clasp each different accountable and we got to play title hoops each azygous day. And does that [always] effect successful wins? No. I mean, this is simply a win-loss league, you're not going to triumph games adjacent erstwhile you play well. And it's sometimes erstwhile you don't play good and you inactive win. That's each a portion of the game.

"But we got to wage attraction to the details and I deliberation we volition bash that."

James, who suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain successful his near genu successful the Lakers' elimination crippled against Minnesota, said the archetypal details for him personally to wage attraction to volition beryllium getting his assemblage acceptable to prolong implicit an 82-game season.

"That's ever the challenge: How tin I get my assemblage adjacent to 100 percent? Obviously coming disconnected the MCL sprain past year, evidently the ft has benignant of fixed maine a small problems from clip to clip passim the people of the past fewer seasons. So that's ever the situation of seeing however I tin get my assemblage arsenic adjacent to 100% wherever I tin spell retired and execute astatine a precocious level. So, I'm inactive ramping things backmost up. I'm not wherever I privation to be. But I mean, I don't privation to beryllium wherever I privation to beryllium close present successful September. So, I got immoderate clip and I'm looking guardant to the process of getting there."

With grooming campy opening with the archetypal afloat signifier Tuesday, James hinted helium could beryllium limited.

"It remains to beryllium seen," James told ESPN erstwhile asked astir his planned information successful grooming campy and the preseason. "Obviously I privation to beryllium retired determination arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin ... but we cognize wherever I'm astatine and the coaching unit knows wherever I'm astatine arsenic acold arsenic maine getting to a spot wherever we're each bully arsenic acold arsenic getting connected the court.

"It's Year 23 from me. I got a batch of miles connected my game....