EL SEGUNDO — As LeBron James limped through Crypto.com Arena following the Lakers’ season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves late last month, dealing with what was later revealed to be a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee, there was the customary uncertainty of what his future would look like.
And once it was his turn to address reporters and media members as part of his end-of-season news conference, the 40-year-old James acknowledged being unsure about his future not long after wrapping up his 22nd NBA season with the Game 5 defeat.
“I don’t know, I don’t have an answer to that,” he said when asked how many more seasons he’ll play. “Something [I’ll] sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”
James has a $52.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season as part of the two-year, $101.3 million contract he signed with the Lakers last summer.
He’ll have until June 29 to either opt into the player option, or decline the option and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
James expressed similar uncertainty about his future when asked about the areas he feels like the Lakers need to improve for next season after back-to-back seasons of first-round playoff exits.
“I don’t know. Obviously you don’t even … man, listen, it’s a business too,” said James, who was hurt during a knee-to-knee collision with Minnesota guard Donta DiVincenzo that night. “So you don’t know what the roster will look like next year besides the guys that locked into contracts. [Expletive], I got a lot to think about myself. So I don’t know what the roster will look like. I don’t know where I stand right now.”
James followed up with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, saying his decision is more about not knowing where he is at in terms of continuing to play generally, not whether he’d return to the Lakers.
Next season would be a league-record 23rd for James, who averaged 24.4 points while shooting 51.3% from the field (37.6% from 3-point range), 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and a steal in 70 regular-season games.
He’ll likely be named to a record-extending 21 All-NBA team.
As of last weekend, James hadn’t had a conversation with his family and inner circle about his future yet.
“I haven’t had the conversation with the family yet as far as me going forward or whatever the case may be,” James said during an episode of the “Mind The Game” podcast that was recorded on May 4 and released last Thursday. “But we will see what happens.”
But the Lakers, at least outwardly, have been optimistic about James returning.
President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka referred to James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as the team’s “pillars” going into next season. It’s no secret that James had long admired Doncic before becoming teammates. Without being prompted, James spoke highly of Coach JJ Redick and his coaching staff after the season ended.
James also said that playing alongside his son, Bronny, this past season ranked No. 1 among all of his career accomplishments.
Bronny has a fully guaranteed $1.9 million salary for 2025-26, is partially guaranteed for $1.3 million of his $2.3 million salary for 2026-27 (his salary for that season would become fully guaranteed on June 29, 2026) and has a $2.5 million team option for 2027-28.
“It is not even close,” he added of playing alongside Bronny. “To be able to play the game that I love and to be able to be along with my son this whole year has been one of the most gratifying, satisfying journeys I’ve ever been on.”
But James’ contract status will loom over the Lakers until he makes a decision.
“LeBron’s going to have high expectations for the roster,” Pelinka said. “And we’re going to do everything we can to meet those.”
