LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — NBA superstar LeBron James will return for an unprecedented 24th season but not with the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that rocked the league on Tuesday as free agency opened.

“Truly an honour to wear the (purple and gold) while trying to continue the greatness and legacies that came before me,” James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, said in a post on X, replying to a “thank you” post from Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss.

“Hope I made a few proud during my stint,” he added.

Buss’s farewell to James on social media had confirmed multiple media reports that the 41-year-old forward would depart the Lakers after eight years.

“LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history,” Buss wrote in a statement posted on the Lakers’ X account.

“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.”

James joined the Lakers in 2018 and led them to their 17th — and most recent — title in 2020 in a post-season played in the Covid “bubble”.

James’s agent Rich Paul told ESPN that James had informed the Lakers of his decision “as a courtesy” so that they would be prepared for the start of free agency.

Teams and players could begin talking at 6 p.m. Eastern time (2200 GMT). While players can’t officially sign with teams until July 6, news of verbal agreements could emerge before then.

“King James” became a free agent after the Lakers’ second-round playoff exit but had not yet confirmed that he would indeed continue one of the most extraordinary careers in league history, with four championships and a multitude of individual records.

But with the free agency period approaching, James has been linked with a possible return to Cleveland or Miami — both clubs he led to titles — or with a move to join his 2024 USA Olympic teammate Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors.

James and Curry faced off in four straight NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018, with three wins for Curry’s Warriors and one for James’s Cavs.

According to ESPN, the Warriors are hoping to assemble a roster of veteran superstars, also looking to add James’s former Lakers teammate Anthony Davis in a trade with the Washington Wizards.

James’s record 23rd NBA campaign got off to a rocky start last year as he missed the first month of the season because of sciatica.

Once fit, he again proved remarkably effective, shooting 51.5 per cent from the field as he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in the regular season.

In the playoffs, James averaged 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists and led the Lakers to a first-round series victory over the Houston Rockets despite the absence of star teammate Luka Doncic, who was sidelined with a hamstring strain.

James had helped push the Lakers to the fourth seed in the Western Conference, despite the late-season injuries to Doncic and key contributor Austin Reaves.

Doncic, 27 and acknowledged as the new lynchpin of the Lakers after his arrival in February 2025, offered his own farewell to James on Instagram with a photo captioned “An honour to play with and learn from you ‘King James'”.

James’s tenure with the Lakers included the 2020 NBA title, in a post-season played in a COVID “bubble”, and a victory in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament.

It was with the Lakers that he broke the league’s all-time scoring record, and he realised his long-cherished dream of playing alongside his son, Bronny James, after the Lakers selected him in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft.