LA Lakers superstar LeBron James has picked up his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, according to ESPN on Sunday, though his camp has made it clear he鈥檚 watching closely to see if the Lakers are serious about building a championship-level squad this offseason.At 40, James is heading into an unprecedented 23rd NBA season and has admitted he鈥檚 still unsure whether he鈥檒l call it quits after this one or stick around for a few more. ESPN鈥檚 Shams Charania also noted that James鈥 wife, Savannah, has told him she hopes he鈥檒l 鈥渞etire in the next year or so.鈥漌ith James effectively putting pressure on the Lakers鈥 front office and agent Rich Paul suggesting LeBron could bolt next summer to chase another ring, Sportskeeda NBA insider Mark Medina resurfaced a 2023 interview with Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss where she addressed the possibility of James finishing his career elsewhere.When asked what it would mean for LeBron to retire as a Laker, Buss responded:鈥淚t would mean a lot. But it won鈥檛 change his contributions to Lakers history. It鈥檚 great if he retires as a Laker. That鈥檚 the ultimate thing.鈥淏ecause a player like Shaquille O鈥橬eal has meant so much to Lakers history, but he wasn鈥檛 a Laker when he retired from the NBA. But that didn鈥檛 change what his part of Lakers history was. When he retired from the NBA, we retired his Lakers jersey.鈥滲uss also laid out the franchise’s standard for jersey retirement: Hall-of-Fame induction.鈥淚 have absolutely no doubt that LeBron will make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen he does so, then we will retire his jersey. Knowing that he will make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame, he will have his Lakers jersey retired. No doubt about it.鈥滼eanie Buss鈥檚 role with the Lakers also faces future uncertaintyIn a major shift, the Buss family recently reached a deal to sell its controlling interest in the Lakers to Mark Walter, owner of the LA Dodgers. The reported $10 billion valuation makes it the richest sale of a U.S. sports team in history.The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when Jerry Buss acquired the team from Jack Kent Cooke in a $67.5 million purchase.Following Jerry Buss鈥檚 death in 2013, team ownership was passed into a trust controlled by his six children.ESPN reports that while the Buss family will retain a minority stake of just over 15% for now, Jeanie Buss will continue in her role as team governor and oversee day-to-day operations 鈥渇or at least a number of years.鈥