As detailed in a recent feature story by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst, the news sent the Association into a "tizzy," with executives around the league doing their best to "decode" the message released by James's agent, Rich Paul.

During the 2024-25 NBA season with the Lakers, James played in 70 games. He averaged 24.4 points per game to go along with 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, and a steal, while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and knocking down 37.6 percent of his three-point attempts.