Basketball legend LeBron James has revealed that he is willing to end his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
James, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday, believes he could continue playing basketball for the next five years after enjoying a successful career.
He is currently playing in his 22nd season in the NBA, and he is showing no signs of slowing down, averaging 23.5 points on 49.6% shooting, 9.0 assists and 7.9 rebounds while appearing in 28 out of the Lakers’ 31 games.
He became the 32nd player to appear in an NBA game in his 40s against Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, he is confident that he has what it takes to continue playing basketball.
James said: “To be honest, if I really wanted to, I could probably play this game at a high level probably for about another — it’s weird that I might say this — but probably about another five to seven years, if I wanted to. But I’m not going to do that.
“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’ve got in this profession. (I) just think back to when I came into the league. That’s like the first thing I thought about.
“You came in as an 18-year-old kid, and now you’re sitting here as a 40-year-old, a 22-year vet, with a 20-year-old in the NBA as well. It’s pretty cool.”
James is dreaming of a fifth NBA title but he admitted that the Lakers currently do not have what it takes to win the league as they continue to improve on their form.
He said: “Right now, I think we’re a very good team. I think we have a chance to compete with anybody in the league.
“Are we at a championship level? Can we win a championship right now? No, I don’t think so. That’s good, because we have so much room to improve, and we also just added two new guys as well.
“We’ll see how we incorporate those guys. It should be fun as well. But we’ll see. I don’t know if that determines if I stick around longer, because it doesn’t change my career in any sense or fashion.”
James has been with Los Angele since 2018, and he is ready to end his career with the Lakers.
He said: “I would love for it to end here. That would be the plan. I came here to play the last stage of my career and to finish it off here.
“But I’m also not silly or too jaded to know the business of the game as well, to know the business of basketball. But I think my relationship with this organization speaks for itself.”
LeBron became the first NBA player to appear in a game with his son when he and Bronny suited up two months ago against the Timberwolves.
He has won four NBA championships from 10 NBA Finals appearances, having made eight consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2018.
He also won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023 with the Lakers, three Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team, and the Olympics MVP in the 2024 Summer Olympics.