LeBron James wasn’t ready to make a decision about his future in a painful moment, shortly after his 22nd NBA season ended at the Los Angeles Lakers’ first round playoff exit.
“I don’t have an answer to that,” James said Wednesday night when he asked how long he would be playing. “Sit down with my wife and my support group and talk through it and see what happens. Converse with yourself about how long I want to play. Honestly, I don’t know the answer right now.”
James, 40, hasn’t given any official indications he’s thinking about retirement this summer, but Lakers fans will hold his breath until the top scorer in NBA history makes his plans official.
James offered no hints after scoring 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Lakers’ 103-96 loss to Minnesota.
“It’s up to me whether you’re trying to keep playing or whether you’re going to keep playing,” James said. “In the end it’s up to me, so it has nothing to do with other people.”
Most observers believe the four-time champions are planning to return to their 23rd season. He is also a regular season game with just 49 behind Robert Parrish, who holds an NBA record in 1,611 games. James already holds a league record for career playoff games with 292.
However, his seventh season with the Lakers ended after the Timberwolves’ 4-1 series victory. Los Angeles did not quickly build the dynamics of victory until the arrival of Luka Donsic’s midseason in Anthony Davis’ seismic trade.
James’ Lakers made one postseason advance five years after the Florida bubble championship, but if James returns, he will return to a completely restructured team built around a new partnership with Don Sic.
James and Donsic only played 21 games together after the deal, but maximizing potential teamwork wasn’t enough. In another year, they were able to raise the partnership to a formidable level, and James appears intrigued by the prospect of playing for more than a year alongside the Slovenian superstar, who he described as his favorite active player.
“Whenever you make a big acquisition mid-season it’s always going to be challenging not just for me (Austin Reeves) and the rest of the group,” James said. “There were obviously times when it wasn’t very good, but I think I got it later in the season. I think we’ve got more games. I don’t think we’ll have enough time to mesh yet, but we thought we’d finished the regular season in the top three in the West.”
He’s not the only teammate who can force him to return to James. His 20-year-old son, Bronnie, is away from an incredibly solid rookie season with the Lakers, who became the first father and son they played together in NBA history.
Bronnie James hopes to carve out a big role with his father next season after gaining sporadic playing time this year. LeBron said the opportunity to work with Bronnie this season was the “first” achievement of his career.
There are no contractual or financial issues that are obvious in James’ way. He has player options for the upcoming season, paying more than $56.2 million. That’s serious money to keep on the table, even business moguls with net worth estimated at over $1 billion.
His eighth straight season with the Lakers was the longest stretch of his career with one team, surpassing his first seven seasons at Cleveland.
James’ level of play remained high over the 22 seasons, disrupting all concepts about the lifespan of previous basketball. He averaged 24.4 points per game. This is the lowest since his rookie season, but slightly lower, but with 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds.
James remained in the Lakers’ mind, winning 52 games and Pacific Division titles despite the midseason roster changes. All key contributors on the roster this season are on contracts between 2025-26, with the exception of Dorian Finney Smith, who has a $15.3 million player option and inconsistent center Jackson Hayes.
At a moment of reflection near his 40th birthday last December, James speculated that he could continue playing at this level for another five or seven years. But he’s not going to stick that long.
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