The future of LeBron James is still unclear. He’s about to enter his 23rd NBA season, and there have been a lot of rumors about his retirement. During the summer, he wasn’t given a contract extension by the Los Angeles Lakers, which led him to exercise his $52.6 million player option. This created a question of what would happen to James after the campaign was over.
With his contract situation and the retirement rumors around him, it’s easy to assume that he could step away from the game. After all, he’s done a lot in his career and has nothing to prove. However, the four-time champion dismissed the talks about his potential retirement in his recent interview with Speedy Morman at Complex.
According to James, retirement is coming. But he’s still not at that point where he will officially hang it up and move away from the game.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks gave his thoughts about LeBron James’ potential retirement. In the recent episode of “NBA Today,” the insider was talking to his co-hosts and said that he expects the four-time MVP to return next season. However, given his current contract status with the Lakers, Marks is unsure of which team he would play for should the franchise not offer him a new contract.
“Yes, I am,” Marks said. “I am expecting him to play next year. Now, where is he going to play? We don’t know that yet.”
Bobby Marks: "I'm expecting Lebron, Steph and KD to be in the top 10 a year from now…I'm expecting Bron to play next year" pic.twitter.com/prVoEQMfw1
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) September 25, 2025
The future Hall of Famer could leave the Lakers if he doesn’t get offered a new deal. But no one is sure where he’ll take his talents next.
James will make history in October as the only player with the most seasons played, with 23. Right now, he’s tied with Vince Carter at 22.
Rob Pelinka addressed LeBron James’ future with the Lakers
The Lakers had their Media Day last week, and one of the main questions was regarding the future of LeBron James. The organization still wants the top player to stay with them even if they haven’t offered him a contract. The president of basketball operations, Rob Pelinka, discussed his goals for James and the company.
“The first thing we want to do in terms of LeBron and his future is give him absolute respect to choose his story with his family in terms of how many years he’s going to play,” Pelinka said.
He also said that he wants LeBron James to end his career with the Lakers.
“We would love it if LeBron’s story were to retire as a Laker. That would be a positive story.”
Rob Pelinka says he wants LeBron to make his own decisions on how long he wants to play. When asked directly whether the Lakers want LeBron on their roster if LeBron wants to play past this season, Pelinka said “We would love if LeBron’s story is to retire as a Laker.”
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) September 25, 2025
James will leave a lasting impact with the Lakers once he retires from basketball.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
