LeBron James said he didn't want to answer questions about his future after the Los Angeles Lakers' season ended on Wednesday, but less than 24 hours later, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the 40-year-old is expected to play for at least one more season.
The Lakers' season ended much earlier than they had hoped after finishing the season as the No. 2 seed in the West, following the Luka Doncic trade. The deal ended questions about who would be the face of LA's franchise after LeBron retires, while also increasing the Lakers' chances of winning another championship with him on the roster.
Nobody thought the 2024-25 season would be LeBron's last, but there was still some concern that it might be. Not only did Shams report that LeBron is expected to play next season, but he also said the superstar will "probably" end up opting into his player option for the 2025-26 season. Shams added that LeBron could decide to play through at least the 2026-27 season if Bryce James, his youngest son, enters the 2025 draft.
.@ShamsCharania says LeBron James is expected to play "at least another NBA season".
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 1, 2025
"[Bryce James] is gonna be potentially draft eligible in 2026 ... [LeBron's] got a 54-million dollar player option ... He probably opts into that." 👀 pic.twitter.com/IrdvaCaRms
LeBron James expected to play at least one more season in NBA
LeBron is still one of the best players in the NBA, so it makes sense for him to keep playing, regardless of his age. There has never been another player his age who still plays at the level he is. He'll make history by playing next season as the first player ever to play 23 years in the NBA. LeBron joined Vince Carter this season as the only two players in history to play 22 seasons.
As Shams said, year 23 might not be LeBron's last, either. Bryce will be a freshman for the Arizona Wildcats next season, so he could be part of next June's draft class. LeBron and Bronny made history by being the first father-son duo in the NBA, so LeBron might want to do the same with Bryce.
LeBron might be thinking about playing with Bryce, but before he makes it that far, he'll have another chance to win his second title with the Lakers. Rob Pelinka said LeBron will have high expectations for next season's roster and that he plans to meet them.
The series loss to Minnesota will sting for a while, but LA is in a much better position than it was last year. The Lakers have Luka, and LeBron isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon.