LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who tied a career high with nine three-pointers in Sunday’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets, believes his NBA career is “not very long.”
Following Sunday’s victory, James declared, “I’m not gonna play another 21 years, that’s for damn sure,” according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Not too long, though. I’m not sure when that door will close in terms of my retirement, but I’m running out of time.”
James scored forty points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists as the Lakers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116–104.
The Lakers star, who turned 39 in December, is contracted to play for the 2024–25 season and has a $54.1 million player option.
James’ current contract states that it will expire at the end of the 2024–25 season, at which point it will become an unrestricted free agent.
James is having a 20th straight season of over 25 points per game, a season that has seen him become the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points.
According to Jim Sergent and Ramon Padilla of USA Today, James has been an NBA player for a longer period of time than he hasn’t been because he entered the league at the age of 18.
In January 2023, James stated to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he intended to postpone retirement until he could continue playing alongside his son Bronny, who had just completed his first year at USC.
That was prior to Bronny going into cardiac arrest during a summer workout, which forced him to postpone his USC debut in favor of emergency surgery. Mostly playing off the bench, he averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes in 25 games by the end of the season.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, James’ kid has not yet determined if he would enter the 2024 draft. His agent Rich Paul says it depends on which teams are interested in drafting him.
It would be interesting to watch if Bronny’s draft year affects James’ decision to sign a new contract, given the uncertainty surrounding his future in the NBA.
For the time being, the Lakers will hope James decides to play in Los Angeles again the following year. As per Spotrac, the deadline for option decisions is June 29.
