CLEVELAND (AP) -LeBron James is signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving the Cavaliers for the second time to join one of the NBA’s most iconic franchises.
James’ agency made the announcement Sunday in a release, saying he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract.
The game’s best all-around player and biggest star will now lead a young Lakers team that has been overmatched in recent years while rebuilding but will instantly rise with James.
Los Angeles also provides James with a larger platform for his business interests and social activism.
This is the third time in eight years James has changed teams. He returned to the Cavs in 2014 after four seasons in Miami.
Eight years after he criticized James in a letter for leaving Cleveland, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert thanked the three-time champion for delivering a title to the city and promised to retire his No. 23 jersey.
The relationship between Gilbert and James was forever damaged by the letter, but the two managed to patch things up enough to work together for four more years.
The 33-year-old had previously said he wanted to finish his career in Ohio, and although he’s leaving home again, Cleveland fans are more forgiving after he ended the city’s 52-year sports championship drought in 2016.