Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James faced questions about his NBA future after he and his team were eliminated from the first round of the NBA playoffs on Wednesday night.
The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Lakers in Game 5 and won the series, 4-1. James did not appear to make any concrete decisions about his career moving forward.
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“I don’t have the answer to that,” James said when asked how long he will continue to play. “Something I’ll sit down with my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it, and see what happens. Just have conversations with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest.”
Every year since the bubble season could have been the year James finally stepped away from the game. However, in season 22, having played a few games with his son Bronny, it appears the checklist of accomplishments keeps getting shorter.
James averaged 24.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in 70 appearances for the Lakers this season. Los Angeles attained the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. It was the first time he finished under 25 points per game since his rookie season in 2003-04.
He had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Wednesday’s 103-96 loss.
“It’s up to me if I’m going to continue to play, or how long I’m going to continue to play,” James said. “It’s ultimately up to me, so it has nothing to do with anybody else.”
There has been no indication that James would not return to the Lakers for the 2025-26 season. He has a $52.6 million player option for next year and would become an unrestricted free agent after that.
James would break the NBA longevity record should he take the floor next season. He is also 49 regular-season games behind Robert Parish for most games played.
He already holds the all-time scoring record and the league record for most career playoff games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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