LeBron James Reveals How Many Years He Could Remain in NBA

Jeremy Hanna | Dec 30, 2024

Dec 25, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers living legend LeBron James has turned 40 years old today, making him one of the oldest people to play in the NBA ever.

James has played in over 1500 games since 2002 and has averaged 27.1 points, 7.5 total rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in his entire career.

In that time, James has been a four-time NBA MVP, a four-time NBA Champion, a 20-time All-Star, was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and won three Olympic gold medals. To say that he has accomplished more than any other player in NBA history is an understatement.

Still, after 22 years as one of the most dominant players in the league, people have been wondering how much longer King James could continue to play at that level. His response? Longer than you'd think.

“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,” James said, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. "But I'm not going to do that."

Currently, James is averaging 23.5 points, nine assists, 7.9 total rebounds, and 0.8 steals per game. That's actually better than he was when he started playing in 2003-04 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his rookie season, he averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 total rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.

Still, James doesn't seem to want to add "oldest player in NBA history" to his lengthy list of records. He promises that when he does retire, he won't be like Michael Jordan or Tom Brady and come out of retirement.

“I would miss the hell out of (basketball), for sure,” James said. “But no, I won’t walk away and come back.”

In the end, LeBron sees himself retiring as a Laker and trying to bring another championship to the organization.

“I think that’s the plan,” James 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. And hopefully, I don’t got to go nowhere before my career is over.”

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