LeBron James Thanked by Lakers After NBA FA Decision, 'One of the Greatest Athletes in History'

The Los Angeles Lakers are officially bidding farewell to LeBron James after eight seasons and an NBA title.

Lakers governor Jeanie Buss released a statement saying goodbye to James after the NBA's all-time leading scorer reportedly elected to leave the franchise in free agency.

"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 purpose and gold," Buss wrote.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday that James and his agent Rich Paul had informed the Lakers "the franchise can move on without him because he will play elsewhere."

According to Charania, "the Lakers expressed to James that they wanted him back" before James decided to test free agency.

"Lakers president Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul spoke a short time ago about the four-time champion's plans, sources said," Charania reported. "James chose to inform the Lakers well before start of free agency tonight out of courtesy and appreciation for their run together, and to allow LA to conduct its offseason business."

Charania's report was released about six hours before free agency opened and one day after Bronny James' contract with the Lakers became fully guaranteed, per Spotrac's Keith Smith.

The eight consecutive seasons James played with the Lakers marked the longest continuous stretch with a single team of his 23-season NBA career.

He earned All-Star nods in each of those eight seasons while leading the Lakers to six playoff appearances and the 2020 title.

James will depart Los Angeles ranked fifth in Lakers history in assists (3,808) and 10th in points (12,402) in 479 games for the franchise.

He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game in his final season with the franchise while at times taking on a tertiary offensive role behind Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are now interested in pursuing James in free agency, per NBA insiders Marc Stein and Chris Haynes.

After re-signing Reaves to a four-year deal, the Lakers' attention will now turn to building a new offense around Dončić.

That could potentially include using the more than $50 million in cap space left in the wake of James' departure to pursue a center like the Detroit Pistons' Jalen Duren or Utah Jazz's Walker Kessler.