New York: On his 40th birthday, LeBron James, who has ruled the NBA for two decades, reflected on his extraordinary career and the future of his game. Despite being ranked among the league’s top ten, he expressed confidence that he could continue playing at a high level for another five to seven years. However, he made it clear that while he would miss basketball deeply, he wasn’t considering a prolonged career. He commented, “It’s kind of laughable, really, to know where I am, to see where I am still playing the game at a high level, still being such a young man but old in the scheme of how many years I got in this profession.”
LeBron, who made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers at 18 after graduating from high school, has dominated the league for 22 years—an unprecedented feat for any athlete. Throughout his career, he has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Cavaliers, winning four NBA championships. Looking ahead, he hopes to retire as a Laker, stating, “The plan would be that. I came here to play my last stage and to wrap out my career.”
LeBron also addressed his team’s prospects, following a trade by the Brooklyn Nets that brought Shake Milton and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers in exchange for Maxwell Lewis, D’Angelo Russell, and three future second-round draft picks. While he believes the Lakers are a strong team with a chance to compete, he acknowledged that they are still developing and not yet at the championship level. He added, “We have a lot of space for development, however, and we just brought on two new members… I’m glad they’re here.”
James’s comments reflect a blend of ambition and pragmatism, indicating that while he remains fully committed to his career, he is mindful of the realities of the game and his future in it.
