Is Retirement On the Way for LeBron James?

But sporting careers are short with few players making it far beyond their mid-thirties – and even fewer into their forties.

So, it’s with a heavy heart that many LA Lakers fans have heard intimations that with his fortieth birthday approaching in December, LeBron James is preparing to play for the last time.

He’s not named a date just yet, but in interviews he has admitted that he doesn’t have much time left before he has to bring what has been a stellar career to a close.

21 years of brilliance

It’s a career that could have gone in a very different direction following his time at St Vincent – St Mary’s where James played as wide receiver for the football team. Luckily for basketball this became his first choice, and he was picked up as a first round draft selection in 2003 by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He quickly made a big impression being named Rookie of the Year with stats of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.

His meteoric rise was further boosted when he received his first ever place in the 2004-2005 All Stars game, contributing greatly to the win by the Eastern Conference. Over the years that followed his stature and importance to the Cleveland team grew and grew right up until his contract ran out and he became a free agent in 2010.

After interest from several teams, he eventually announced that he’d be joining Miami Heat. Here he soon became a key member of the team, helping them to back-to-back NBA championship wins in 2012 and 2013, in both cases being named MVP.

In 2014 he announced that he would be returning to the Cavaliers who had been struggling without his presence.

But soon performances began to improve and, once again, the team was becoming a favourite for basketball betting fans. In 2015 he was once again in the NBA championship final, losing out to the Golden State Warriors. But revenge was his the very next season when the Warriors lost out to the Cavaliers.

The move to the Lakers

However, for all the success he had already enjoyed, this served merely as a prelude to the heights he would scale with the LA Lakers.

Moving to them as an unrestricted free agent in 2018 here was another team which hoped its fortunes would be transformed by his presence. Despite many strong early performances, a mid-season groin injury ruled him out of 17 consecutive games – the longest layoff of his career to date. But he came back better and stronger and his crowning glory to date has been seeing the Lakers to victory in the 2020 NBA championships – picking up yet another MVP award along the way.

In 2022 he re-signed with the Lakers on a two-year $97.1 million contract. This made him, at $528.9 million in career earnings, the highest-paid NBA player of all time. Another record that he has since broken has been to become the game’s highest scorer of all time, smashing Kareem Abdul-Jabaar’s figure of 38,387.

Already he has exceeded the 40,000 mark. But now the question is how much further can he go?

The signs of retirement

James has already stated that the end is approaching. Because as much as the desire may be there, the body may be becoming more fallible. He has suffered several minor, if niggling, injuries while also performing at the highest level. But there is the ever-present risk that the next time he plays something more serious like a ligament or muscle injury might strike.

It’s also an undeniable fact that James has thrived when his team’s been doing well, and this is something that can’t be said of the Lakers at the moment. By early April they were in mid-table oblivion in the Western Conference, some way off qualifying for the play-offs. So, the drive to raise their game may well be fading.

It’s also true that James has many other interests and activities outside the sport that he might want to dedicate more attention to. There’s his charitable foundation that supports many good causes in Akron and throughout Ohio as well as many endorsement deals that occupy his time.

The next generation

However, there’s one thing that may keep him on the court. In the past he has expressed and ambition to play alongside his sons Bronny and Bryce. The former is currently a college player for the USC Trojans. If things go well, he could find himself being picked up in the draft and at least half of his father’s wish could well be granted.

And, for basketball fans everywhere who want to see the legendary LeBron James carry on for as long as possible, this would be very good news indeed.