Year 22 for LeBron James ended on a bit of a whimper as he and the Los Angeles Lakers were bounced out of the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves in just five games.
The Lakers entered the series as favorites, but Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves were the aggressors from the jump and dispatched the purple and gold behind a stifling defense and whirling offense. Los Angeles now enters the offseason with some massive questions to answer, though none bigger than James’ future.
As is the case every season, James was noncommittal about his future when asked if he’d return for the 2025-26 season.
However, the early expectation is James will play next season and could potentially play beyond that depending on his son Bryce James’ draft situation, via Shams Charania of ESPN:
“There’s no expectation for LeBron James to retire, I will say that. My sense, my understanding is that he’ll play at least another NBA season. You think about next year, ’25-26, it’ll be Year 23, that would set a league record. Year 23 for No. 23. The All-Star Game is in Los Angeles, he could potentially be playing in Los Angeles. There’s a lot of stars that would align for next season potentially if that’s what LeBron James decides. He’d be 41 years old in December. He’s 40 years old right now, so the expectation is he’s gonna be playing at least another season. And the other thing is does Bryce James, his son, does that factor play into it at all? His son is gonna be potentially draft eligible in 2026 next year. If he feels at some point next year Bryce James might be an NBA player, might be a draft-eligible player, does he extend that window? I think that’s the only potential carrot caveat that you think of out there that could keep LeBron James even longer than at least one more year.
It never felt like LeBron would retire following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season and it sounds like the Lakers can safely anticipate him returning. The Bryce angle is also something that has been previously speculated and it’s worth noting that Los Angeles does own their first-round pick in 2026.
Regardless, the front office should continue to move forward with the idea that LeBron will be on the roster next season.
