LeBron Unsure About Future Beyond Season

The 41-year-old is deflecting retirement questions to focus on Lakers health, ownership dreams, and postseason sprint

LeBron James basically refused to answer questions about his future on Sunday before his 22nd All-Star Game appearance, offering the most honest response possible: he doesn’t know and he just wants to live. When asked about career plans beyond his record-setting 23rd NBA season, James delivered a philosophical answer that suggested he’s not thinking about retirement he’s thinking about mortality. “Yeah, I mean, I want to live,” he said. “When I know, you guys will know. I don’t know. I have no idea. I just want to live, that’s all.” That’s either the most zen statement a professional athlete has made or a reality check about being 41 years old in a professional sport. Probably both.

What James is focused on is Lakers health, not his personal future

 The team is 33-21, sitting fifth in the Western Conference. But they’ve had a historically weird season: 6,264 points scored, 6,264 points allowed through 54 games. That’s not a coincidence that’s a team that hasn’t established identity or rhythm. James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves have been healthy together for exactly 10 games, going 7-3. That small sample size is the entire Lakers season in a nutshell. When everything clicks, they look great. When it doesn’t, James said they look “disgusting.” The solution is simple: stay healthy.

James is acutely aware that the Lakers can’t build chemistry in a vacuum

 He mentioned something important that gets overlooked: “You would hope that you can have the regular season and kind of build that cohesiveness, but I’m hoping that if we can get healthy, that we can start to build that.” Translation: they’ve wasted the regular season to injuries and need the stretch run to figure out how to play together. That’s not a championship formula. That’s a team hoping to avoid injury catastrophe while frantically building team identity in April.

What’s worth noting is that James acknowledged ownership interest while NBA commissioner Adam Silver signaled expansion is coming. Silver said Saturday that the board of governors will discuss expansion in March, which could open opportunities for ownership groups. James mentioned wanting to be part of an NBA ownership group “someday,” but Silver’s timeline suggests that might happen sooner rather than later. Is James already thinking about that transition? Maybe. He’s making $52.6 million this season his final year under contract. At 41, with that kind of financial security and potential ownership opportunity, retirement might become attractive faster than we think.

But right now, James is essentially saying: I don’t know, I’m not thinking about it, we need to get healthy. The Lakers need Doncic fully healthy (he’s dealing with a hamstring strain and will play limited minutes in the All-Star Game), and they need Reaves and James to stay available. With those three healthy, LA added Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, and Luke Kennard in recent trades. This is a completely remade roster that hasn’t had time to gel. James basically said it’s impossible to predict what this team is capable of because they haven’t had the opportunity to play together with full health.

The postseason is coming, and that’s where the narrative shifts

 The Lakers can make noise with a healthy roster. They can also flame out if injuries strike. James’s future will likely be determined by how this postseason unfolds. A championship run might convince him to return. An early exit might convince him ownership looks better. He’s not going to announce either way until he sees what actually happens when everyone is available.

For now, he just wants to live. The basketball future will sort itself out.