Lakers News: LeBron James Hints At Retiring Sooner Than Expected

The Heat loss seems to have bummed him out.

Maybe it was dropping yet another game, his Los Angeles Lakers' fifth in six tries. Maybe it was his aching bones appearing in both games of a back-to-back set. Maybe it was the cumulative weight of the third-most minutes played in NBA history.

Whatever it was, something set LeBron James off last night.

The 6'9" All-Star power forward, now just one day shy of his 38th birthday in his 20th NBA season, had been considering a retirement far into the future.

 James told Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard before the start of the 2022-23 season that he was hoping to play in the league long enough to suit up alongside both sons LeBron "Bronny" James Jr., 18, and Bryce James, 15. At the earliest, according to current CBA rules, Bryce would be able to play for an NBA team in 2026, LeBron's age-42 season.Starting Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder recently claimed James wanted to play until he was 45, a la reigning NFL GOAT Tom Brady. Should he hit the hardwood until he is 46, he'd set the NBA record as the oldest player in history.

Last night, however, a fed-up James seemed to suggest that he may be looking to retire a bit earlier, should he continue to languish on a losing club, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register.

"I don't have a number," James said when asked how long he intended to remain in the NBA. "I know as long as my mind stay in it, I can play at this level for a minute... I will make sure my body is taken care of and I'll continue to put in the work."

"I think about how much longer I'm going to play the game... I don't want to finish my career playing at this level from a team aspect. I'll still be able to be [competing] for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces."

"I think about my son graduating high school soon, going off to college and I'm still playing. My youngest son [Bryce] will be a junior next year -- how much more time I'll miss. So throughout the course of a day, to the weeks, to the months, I think about a little bit of everything. You know? Think about how much of the world I'll see when I'm done playing the game. At the end of the day, I keep the main thing the main thing."

This is a bigger-picture appraisal of his life, and what it might look like if he hangs up his spurs a bit sooner than he had initially intended. It's certainly littered with caveats. It sounds like being on a contender -- which he believes (accurately) he's still good enough to help lead -- could change the calculus for James going forward. He could force a trade starting this summer. Will he? Or will he stay in Los Angeles through the end of his contract so that he can oversee his various business and entertainment interests up close and personal, allowing himself to accrue plenty of points on a team whose front office seems somewhat disinterested in helping him win?

The four-time MVP and four-time champ's accomplishments on the court are legion. Soon to be named to his 19th All-Star team, James is also on the cusp of overtaking another Lakers Hall of Famer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as the NBA's all-time leading regular season scorer (he has already, of course, surpassed Cap as the league's all-timing leading scorer in combined regular season and postseason points). His legacy is secure, no matter when he decides to transition to his next phase of life.