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It’s hard to digest for some fans, but LeBron James’ remaining NBA seasons are numbered, and it’s not just competing teams looking to beat him in the West waiting for him to retire.
According to ESPN, one person who wants him to retire is his wife, Savannah, as the career change would effectively have him around more, rather than life revolving around basketball.
During a dinner in New York over the weekend, the Jameses were dining with friends, including former teammates Kevin Love and his wife, Kate, as well as others. One of the guests leaked a snippet of their personal conversation on Instagram, in which James shared his wife’s blunt answer regarding a retirement timeline.
“[Savannah] wants me to f-cking retire in the next year or so,” he reportedly said.
Now that we know retirements are top of mind, the focus shifts to whether he’ll retire as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. There’s some inkling of the future since he decided to exercise his player option for the 2025-26 season, worth $52.6 million.
Childhood friend and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul confirmed the news to ESPN, explaining that he has loved being part of the organization but has a more win-now mentality, so they may not be on the same timeline.
“[James] knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all,” Paul said. “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive, and want what’s best for him.”
King James already owns several major NBA records, like most minutes played in the regular and postseason, along with four Finals MVPs, and four championships. But his longevity of greatness will be poetically cemented after one more season, making it his 23rd and officially one more than Vince Carter, and beating him out for most seasons ever played.
The 40-year-old has remained happy as a Laker, which was evident when he was approached about a possible trade to the Golden State Warriors this past season. Although he denied the trade, he left the door open for further discussion.
“I am a Laker, and I’m happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years and hopefully it stays that way,” James said at the time.
See how social media is reacting to James pondering his NBA future below.