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LeBron James Addresses His NBA Future After Lakers Exit Playoffs

How many more years will he play?

Kyle Koster

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the first half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the first half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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As soon as the final buzzer sounded on the Los Angeles Lakers's season Wednesday night, the clock started an annual rite of spring: rampant speculation and intrigue about the future of one LeBron James.

Still incredibly productive and motivated to win—and having succeeded in accomplishing his dream of bringing his son to the NBA—the 40-year-old is at a new place in his career. Like Tom Brady, he's defying age and could realistically continue to do so alongside Luka Doncic for a handful of years. Or he could try to engineer one last chapter in a new location. Or, though this would certainly sneak up on a lot of people, he could retire. He was born in 1984, put a tremendous amount of miles on the odometer, and accomplished more than pretty much anyone who has played the sport, after all.

James was asked about his future and how long he intends to play by a reporter postgame. His answer? He doesn't have one.

"I don't have an answer to that," James said. "Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group, have conversations with myself on how long I want to continue to play. We'll see."

Okay, so it's not clear how much we learned from that response. Which is a fairly predictable outcome of asking James minutes after his season ended what lies down the road for him. But it must be asked. Otherwise no one would know that he's going to think about that.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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