One of the biggest questions in the 2025-26 NBA season is the looming retirement of LeBron James. He is currently in his 23rd season, and many people think that his career as a professional athlete may soon come to an end. James has already discussed it, but he hasn’t stated when he plans to retire. His former co-star, Kevin Love, predicts that the Los Angeles Lakers star could retire after the 2026-27 season.
Aside from next season, there’s also a chance that James could retire after this campaign. Over the summer, the four-time champion exercised his $53 million player option. This means that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
But James is proving that he’s still got a lot left in his tank. But the Lakers are ready to hand the keys to Luka Doncic and let the four-time MVP take a backseat. Amid the speculations, Love was interviewed by Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports News. During their talk, the 2016 champion predicted that the 6-foot-9 forward could have one more season in him.
“I don’t know how much longer [he’ll play] — whether it’s the end of this year [that he retires], I don’t think it will be,” Love said. “But at the end of next year there’s a high likelihood that will be the case. I don’t want to make assumptions on what he’s thinking or what he’s feeling or how his family is feeling. But it’s coming sooner rather than later and he’s been pretty outspoken about that.”
Next season, LeBron James will turn 42 and set another record if he plays in his 24th season. There’s also an expectation that James will wait for his second son, Bryce James, to be drafted in the league before he retires.
LeBron James gets honest about playing for the first time this season
Because of sciatica, LeBron James missed the first 14 games of the season for the Lakers. He also missed training camp and the preseason games. Despite this, he still developed chemistry with his teammates, having only practiced with the team once.
He played his first game against the Utah Jazz, helping the Lakers with a 140-126 win. James played against the Jazz for his second game, resulting in a 108-106 back-to-back win. Following the team’s victory on Sunday, the star forward said that his first two games are serving as his training camp.
“S**t, this week was kind of like my training camp for me, to be honest. I didn’t get an opportunity to practice with the guys at all throughout camp, throughout the preseason. So I’m still working my way back,” James said.
“S—-, this week was kind of like my training camp for me, to be honest. I didn’t get an opportunity to practice with the guys at all throughout camp, throughout the preseason. So I’m still working my way back.” – LeBron James on his conditioning after his second game of the year pic.twitter.com/Z0CPGlAJ4A
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 24, 2025
The Lakers will resume their season on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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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.
