According to NBA insider Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is undecided about playing next season.
James turns 41 in December. He becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season for the first time since 2018.
“Giving James a night off here and there, from now until mid-April, would help save his legs for what the Lakers hope is a deep playoff run,” McMenamin wrote. “At the same time, if James believes this could be his last season — something that sources close to James have insisted that he remains undecided about — he might feel even more responsibility to suit up for every game on what would then be a retirement tour.”
James joined the Lakers in 2018. He led the franchise to the 2020 championship against the Miami Heat at the Walt Disney World bubble.
A future Hall of Famer, James is a four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP. He’s played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), Heat and Lakers.
James, who grew up idolizing Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, is the only player to rank top five all-time in points and assists, the only player to win three Finals MVPs with three teams, the only player with 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 career assists and the only player to score 50,000 points combining the regular season and playoffs.
The leading scorer in NBA history, James has made 21 All-Star teams and 21 All-NBA teams. From now until the Lakers’ regular-season finale on April 12, James can only miss three games to stay eligible for All-NBA.
James’ longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, told ESPN that he hasn’t discussed James’ All-NBA prospects for this season. However, if it were up to Paul, James would take himself out of the running for it.
“Look, at 41 years of age, I hope he is not playing back-to-backs,” Paul said. “But at the same time, in order for him to make the All-NBA team and things like that … he can’t miss that many more games.”
Latest NBA News & Rumors