LOS ANGELES (AFP) — National Basketball Association (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 honor 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’ 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’ 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. While players can’t officially sign with teams until 6 July, 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’ 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.