Considering how well he can still play, you might imagine that 39-year-old LeBron James will simply play basketball forever.
However, time comes for us all and the Los Angeles Lakers star seems to know that he doesn’t have too many NBA seasons left in him.
The four-time NBA champion was speaking postgame on Sunday and the topic of retirement came up.
“I don’t know when that door will close as far as when I will retire,” he said. “But I don’t have much time left.”
"Not very long… I don’t know when that door will close as far as when I’ll retire. But I don’t have much time left." – LeBron James on how much longer his NBA playing career will continue
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— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 1, 2024
James left it there, so it’s unclear if he has a specific timeframe in mind or if he’s just admitting that the end of his Hall of Fame career is coming sooner than later.
LeBron has said previously that he would like to play long enough to be teammates with his son Bronny James. Right now, Bronny is a freshman at USC, but he could declare for the NBA Draft after this season. More likely, that won’t happen until at least next season, but we don’t know for sure.
In the meantime, James is hoping that this current NBA season will be extended for him and the Lakers. At 42-33, Los Angeles is currently ninth in the Western Conference and making a strong playoff push. We’ll see if championship No. 5 is a possibility, and if so, whether that factors into LeBron’s retirement plans.
