After the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs, LeBron James stated that he had not made any decisions about his future. LeBron turned 41 last December, and he finished his 22nd season in the NBA on Wednesday evening as the league’s all-time leading scorer. If he plays another season, he will break the NBA longevity record, which he currently holds with Vince Carter.
When asked how long he will play, LeBron replied, “I don’t know. I’ll sit down with my wife and my support group and simply talk about it, and see what happens. Just have conversations with myself about how long I want to keep playing. I don’t know the answer right now, to be honest.”
The Lakers’ season-ending setback to the Minnesota Timberwolves provided enough evidence that LeBron is far from finished, as he scored 22 points, seven rebounds, and six assists but was unable to keep the Lakers from losing 103-96.
“It’s up to me if I’m going to continue to play, or how long I’m going to continue to play,” according to LeBron. “It’s ultimately up to me, so it has nothing to do with anybody else.”
The Lakers executed a league-altering transaction by acquiring Luka Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis, their franchise cornerstone player. LeBron and Doncic have only played 21 games together this season since the transaction. However, the Lakers are anticipated to make significant changes to their roster in order to maximize the team’s potential. Since joining the Los Angeles Lakers seven seasons ago, LeBron has only led the franchise to one NBA championship: inside the bubble in Florida during the COVID pandemic.
Now, the idea of playing an entire 82-game season alongside Doncic — whom he has described as his favorite NBA player among active players — may be enough to keep him from retiring. If that isn’t enough, his son Bronny might join him on the Lakers’ roster.
“Anytime you make a big acquisition in the middle of the season, it’s always going to be challenging, not only for me, but for (Austin Reaves) and the rest of the group,” he added. “There were periods when we certainly didn’t look well, but I believe we worked it out later in the season, as we played more games. I still don’t think we had enough time to gel, but I thought we finished the regular season well enough to be among the top three in the West.”
Leave a Reply