LeBron James Addresses Future Amid Retirement Speculation

While Luka Dončić is expected to sign a long-term extension to become the Los Angeles Lakers‘ face of the franchise for the next decade, LeBron James remains undecided on his future.

James is still recovering from an MCL injury he sustained during their first-round series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He told Steve Nash on the May 8 episode of their “Mind the Game” podcast.

“Taking some vacation time with the family, some of the times that you lose when you’re in the eight, nine-month [NBA] season and see what this next journey looks like,” James told Nash. “I haven’t had the conversation with the family yet as far as me going forward or whatever the case may be. But we’ll see what happens.”

His latest comment is consistent with his messaging right after the Lakers were eliminated.

“I don’t have an answer to that,” James told reporters. “Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”

James has a $52.7 million player option for next season, which he has to decide on by June 29.

LeBron on MCL Injury

His focus at the moment is to get his left knee right.

“In my 22-year career, this is my first knee injury,” James said. “As soon as the impact happened with me and [Donte] DiVincenzo, my knee locked up, and I stayed on the ground for quite a minute to see if the knee would release a little bit. But I knew right then and there it was a pain that I hadn’t felt before.”

James is expected to recover before the training camp.

“It’s four to six weeks [recovery], the docs told me,” James said. “I have four, six weeks now [to rest]. That’s the benefit of not going deeper in the postseason. Obviously, I wish I was still going, but unfortunately, even if we had won Game 5 at home, I would have probably missed Games 6 and 7 and even further.”

LeBron Expected Not to Retire: Report

The injury will give James some downtime to decompress after finishing his 22nd NBA season while pondering on his future.

“I don’t have an answer to that,” James told reporters after their Lakers’ elimination. “Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”

Though James remains non-committal on returning for his 23rd season following their first-round exit, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Lakers star is expected to play at least one more year.

“There’s no expectation for LeBron James to retire,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on May 1. “I will say that my sense, my understanding, is he will play at least another NBA season. You think about next year, 2025-26 [season], it’ll be year 23 that will set a league record. Year 23 for No. 23. The NBA All-Star is in Los Angeles. He’s potentially playing in Los Angeles. “There are a lot of stars that would align for next season, potentially, if that’s what LeBron James decides.”

Lebron Distances Himself From Lakers-Luka Extension Talks

GettyLeBron James & Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.

After James made recruitment pitches in the past, most recently with Klay Thompson in their failed pursuit last offseason, he’s no longer keen on doing that anymore for the Lakers.

That was abundantly clear when he made his clear stance on the Lakers’ pitch to have Dončić’s commitment to the organization beyond next season.

“No, that ain’t my job,” James told ESPN. “I think … I don’t think, I know, Luka knows how I feel about him. And ultimately, that trade happened for the future. That’s not for me. Luka has to decide what he has to do with his future. He’s [26] years old, I’m 40, so he can’t be basing his career off me. That’s just real.

“But I hope, obviously, [he stays long term]. Laker fans [expletive] love him here. L.A. has accepted him. We love him as a teammate, as a brother. But ultimately, he’s got to make a decision for himself. [Expletive], I ain’t going to be around much longer.”

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