It’s year 23 for number 23.
LeBron James is set to embark on his 23rd NBA season, and during the Los Angeles Lakers’ media day on Monday, he addressed the speculation on his retirement.
LeBron makes retirement admission with son Bryce in mind
Having achieved his dream of wanting to take to the hardwood with his oldest son Bronny James, who was drafted by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, some have wondered whether he is waiting for his other son, Bryce to also be eligible to play in the league.
The 18-year-old will be a freshman at the University of Arizona this season, but the four-time NBA champion insists that his retirement decision will not be predicated on his son as Father Time beckons.
“No, I’m not waiting on Bryce,” James said on Monday. “He has his own timeline. I’ve got my timeline. I don’t know if they quite match up.”
Fans took to social media to discuss these comments, with one fan posting to X (formerly Twitter) to say: “Yea we not waiting on Bryce, his time will come and if we’re still in the league by then, then that’s a plus but the main focus is championships until we’re done.”
“LeBron is 22 years older than Bryce. Even the conversation about him playing in the league the same time as him is insane,” a second fan posted.
“Yeah bro this year might be it he ain’t doing no tour because yall r some haters and ungrateful hoop fans just remember we have not seen anyone better than LBJ,” a third wrote, believing this could be James’ final season.
During the Lakers’ first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024-25 postseason, James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee. He also suffered a groin injury toward the end of the regular season which kept him out for a couple of weeks.
As the 40-year-old continues to rehabilitate his injury and ramp up his preparation for the upcoming season, the NBA veteran spoke of the role that he knows he will play on the team – whether he is on the court, or not.
“Obviously, I want to be out there as much as I can … but we know where I’m at, and the coaching staff knows where I’m at as far as me getting to a place where we’re all good as far as getting on the court,” James said.
LeBron and Bronny James take to the court for their second season playing togetherGetty Son Bryce is in his freshman season at Arizona, but James said he won’t wait for him to join the NBA – if he makes itGetty“It’s Year 23 from me. I got a lot of miles on my game. I’ve trained throughout the course of the offseason, but just my presence is going to be important as well.
“Making sure that even if I’m not on the floor, I’m always in tune to what we’re doing so I know what’s going on at all times. So, just looking forward to that.”
James can’t outlast Father Time forever
Aged 40, and the last remaining member of his draft class still in the league, James enters the final year of his two-year, $101.4 million contract with him set to earn $52.6 million in base salary in the 2025-26 season.
This will be the first time in his eight years with the Lakers that he will be playing on an expiring deal, and turning 41 in December, the questions over his retirement have been more prevalent than in seasons past.
However, James insists that how he approaches the game will be no different than to how he’s approached the game his whole career.
“It will have no impact,” James told ESPN. “I’m super excited about the challenges and the excitement of our team. We added some new guys.
“We got another year under our belt with our coaching staff from last year. Got a full year with Luka [Doncic] and another year with the guys that I’ve been with. So super excited about that.
Doncic and LeBron James will play their first – and perhaps only – full season togetherGetty LeBron is one of the greatest basketball players of all timeGetty“And I’m not worried about contracts at this point in my career. That doesn’t bother me at all. Super humbled to even have it, have a contract still and be able to play the game that I love still at this part of my career and take full advantage of it.”
Basketball fans everywhere will get to their first full season with the All-Star duo of James and an in-shape Doncic following the Serbian’s stunning blockbuster trade from the Dallas Mavericks at last season’s trade deadline, that saw 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis head in the other direction.
The new Hollywood duo played 23 games together down the stretch, in which they combined for an average of 60.8 points per contest in 24.6 minutes, posting an offensive rating of 116.1 – outscoring their opponents by 2.0 points per possession – slightly above the team’s overall season average of 115.0.
James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, entering the 2025-26 campaign having scored 42,184 career points and has won four NBA titles, two with the Miami Heat, one with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, and his fourth with Los Angeles in the shortened ‘bubble’ season.
Even in his fourth decade of life, the 21-time All-Star is posting stellar numbers, having averaged 24.4 points shooting at a 51.3 percent clip, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists, ranking inside the top 25 of players in each category.
Still performing at an elite level, James indicated that he is savoring every moment of what is to come this season, knowing that the end of his career will come sooner rather than later.
“The thing that’s still pushing me is the fact that the love of the game is still high and the love of the process is even higher,” James said. “That’s what continues to push me to play this game. It’s really that simple.”
The 21-time All-NBA star also spoke candidly of how he will go about monitoring his mental approach and process to the game of basketball.
“For me, it’s just, am I still excited about the process? Do I still get motivated about the process every single year?” Preparing my body. Preparing my mind. Working on my body, training, things of that nature, to get ready for a full season.
“I think once I kind of fall out of love with the process, then I’ll know for sure. Then, it’d probably be the end for me.”
When asked by the Spectrum Sportsnet panel whether they’d see him next year for media day, James could only offer a one-word response:
“Maybe.”
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