{"id":138689,"date":"2025-05-09T09:49:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=138689"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:49:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:49:47","slug":"lebron-james-update-retirement-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/09\/lebron-james-update-retirement-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James Provides Update On Retirement Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The end is near for Los Angeles Lakers forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A 40-year-old superstar who has had the most storied career in NBA history, James is now the league\u2019s all-time leader in games (1,854), minutes (71,103), points (50,473), win shares (330.9), All-Star selections (21), and All-NBA selections (20). He ranks second on the all-time leaderboard in NBA Finals MVP awards (4), free-throw conversions (10,516), and Olympic gold medals (3). He ranks top-five in career assists (13,679; 3rd), steals (2,838; 5th), and 3-pointers (3,039; 5th).<\/p>\n<p>The chances that fans see another player like him in their lifetime \u2014a born star who dominated from Chapter 1 to Chapter 22 \u2014isn\u2019t high. Even San Antonio Spurs phenom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/04\/lebron-james-legend-50k-points\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">off the pace<\/a> that James set. With that being said, there\u2019s still a chance that the \u2018kid from Akron\u2019 isn\u2019t done yet.<\/p>\n<h2>LeBron James Provides Update On Retirement Plan<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t had the conversation with the family yet as far as me going forward or whatever the case may be,\u201d James tells co-host Steve Nash on the <em>Mind the Game<\/em> podcast.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wolves vs. Lakers and the Evolution of Anthony Edwards | LeBron James &amp; Steve Nash | MIND THE GAME\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZNmVvSOrIhY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Why He\u2019ll Return For Next Season<\/h3>\n<p>Honestly, it\u2019s unlikely that James turns down his contract and walks away from the game.<\/p>\n<p>For one, James has a $50.7 million player option for the 2025-26 season. That\u2019s a lot of money for anyone to walk away from, even a billionaire. Furthermore, he played quite well in 2024-25 and should be able to fend off Father Time a little longer. Lastly, the Lakers also <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/26\/lebron-james-shock-lakers-luka-doncic-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">managed to inject energy and faith<\/a> in the franchise with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a> trade.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also the fact that James and Doncic were handily defeated in the First Round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. If you\u2019re James, that\u2019s not the storybook ending you\u2019re looking for. Not in the least.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138705\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138705\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-138705\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6102.jpeg 1208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138705\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) meets with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) following game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Conversely, one last hurrah gives him a chance to put up a better fight in the playoffs. Though he doesn\u2019t believe he has anything left to prove, he could win that ever-elusive fifth ring. To that point, there\u2019s no better way for James to go out than riding off into the sunset.<\/p>\n<p>On the sentimental side, a return also allows him to go on <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/15\/lebron-james-retirement-tour-talk-following-in-kobes-footsteps\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">an official retirement tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>James has both basked in and bristled at the attention that comes with his fame. Nevertheless, a retirement tour isn\u2019t just an event his fans would love. It\u2019s an opportunity for him to be given his flowers by everyone who cherishes the game \u2014fans, players, coaches, executives, even the media.<\/p>\n<p>If there are questions about his future, they\u2019re: (1) will he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/31\/should-lebron-james-retire-with-cavs-or-lakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">finish his career with<\/a> the Lakers; and (2) will he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/31\/lakers-lebron-james-leaves-door-open-playing-youngest-son-bryce-james\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">try to stick around long enough<\/a> to be on an NBA court with his youngest son, Arizona commit Bryce James.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The end is near for Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. A 40-year-old superstar who has had the most storied career in NBA history, James is now the league\u2019s all-time leader in games (1,854), minutes (71,103), points (50,473), win shares (330.9), All-Star selections (21), and All-NBA selections (20). He ranks second on the all-time leaderboard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":138692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1608,62,3],"tags":[49298,38,1133,4557,596,4669],"class_list":["post-138689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-bryce-james","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba-offseason","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138689"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138706,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138689\/revisions\/138706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}