An NBA reporter revealed shocking news on the future of LeBron James.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is entering his 23rd year in the NBA at 40 years old. But he remains at the top of the sport, and is extremely motivated to win his fifth championship.
So much so that rumours have circulated all offseason that he may be looking for a move away from LA, as James grows frustrated with the LA Lakers’ lack of urgency to win a title.
But an NBA reporter revealed that James’ future in the NBA is not as certain as fans presume.
NBA reporter says this could be LeBron James’ last season in the NBA
While James is 40 years old, he is shockingly showing few signs of slowing down. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team last season after averaging 24-8-8, and was arguably the best player on the Lakers in the postseason.
However, as James tries to position himself for another championship run, an NBA reporter has suggested that this could be the final season of James’ legendary NBA career.
NBA reporter Dave McMenamin said on ESPN, “I think we have to start thinking that this could be his last year in the league.”
James opted into his $52 million option at the start of the summer, but there have been no talks of a contract extension beyond the summer of 2026. The Lakers appear to be content with allowing James to leave that summer, and James is reportedly satisfied with the lack of contract discussions.
McMenamin said that James’ agent, Rich Paul, said no conversations were had because James’ camp never wanted to engage in them.
He continued, “Rich Paul told me there was no extension talk, because we didn’t ask for an extension talk. We didn’t broach the subject.
“You could say, ‘Why didn’t the Lakers offer it?’ But Rich Paul’s point to me was, this wasn’t a point of tension. ‘It’s not something we were pursuing.’”
You would be forgiven for not noticing, but LeBron is well beyond typical retirement age in the NBA. He is by far the best that anyone has ever been at his age, but it has not stopped James from considering when he will call it quits.
“I think you look at it like there’s a very limited time left in his career. We already kind of knew that. We knew that since he reached 20 years in the league, he has gone into every offseason contemplating retirement.”
LeBron James’ retirement would be Jordan-esque
No player of James’ calibre can genuinely say they left the game before the game left him. Ironically, the only comparison can be Michael Jordan, the ghost that James has been chasing his entire career.
Jordan famously retired three times. He retired for the final time because he was finished. He did become the first 40-year-old to average 20 points per game, but his Washington Wizards went 37–45 and missed the playoffs.
But in both ‘93 and ‘98, he walked away from the NBA on top of the mountain, off the back of a three-peat and the league’s best player. He did return to the league on both occasions, but he is the only example of an all-time NBA great who chose to walk away from the league.
Magic Johnson was great when he called it quits, but he was forced into retirement following an HIV diagnosis. He, too, would return. Larry Bird averaged 20 points in his final season. However, he was some way from his best and suffered from a crippling back injury.
If James were to walk away at the end of this season, and stay away afterwards, it would be the only time one of the best players in the league’s history left voluntarily as a truly elite performer.