LeBron James Says He Could Keep Playing for Up to ‘7 Years’ as He Marks 40th Birthday — ‘But I Won’t’
The basketball legend recently accomplished a major milestone in his career — sharing the court with his son Bronny
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LeBron James.LeBron James has a few more things to accomplish before retiring.
The basketball legend, whose birthday was on Sunday, Dec. 30, has been in the NBA more than half his life. He has hit nearly every milestone and goal he's set, from his recent gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics to sharing the court with his son, Bronny. As he turned 40, James suggested that the end of his professional career may be in sight.
"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," he told reporters after Monday's Los Angeles Lakers practice, ESPN reported.
Related: The Cutest Photos of LeBron James with His Kids Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri
Tied with Vince Carter, James is only the second NBA player to play 22 seasons, and only the 32nd to play in an NBA game in his 40s, according to ESPN. This season, he's averaged 23.5 points on 49.6% shooting, and has played all but three of the Lakers' 31 games.
In the 2022-2023 season, James told ESPN that his final goal — after surpassing Kareem Abdul Jabbar's career scoring record with 49,000 points in all NBA play — was to play with his son, Bronny, which he achieved earlier this season.
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LeBron James.Bronny, now 20, joined his father on opening night of the Lakers' season. He was selected as the No. 55 pick in the June draft's second round.
James, though, said he has a new final milestone in mind — he hopes to compete for a fifth championship, ESPN reported.
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LeBron James.James thinks he has a few more years left in him, he said in the post-practice interview, but added that he's been thinking about retirement more than ever.
"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," James said. "But I'm not going to do that."
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