LeBron James’ 22nd NBA season ended in a bitter first-round exit after the Los Angeles Lakers lost at home in Game 5 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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That’s a fact.
What remains unclear is the 40-year-old’s plans moving forward.
James didn’t have much to say regarding his basketball future in the aftermath of a stingy 103-96 defeat to the Timberwolves, resulting in another early postseason dismissal for the Lakers.
"I don't have the answer to that," James told reporters when asked how many years he intends to play.
LeBron James says he needs to talk with his family, support group and reflect personally before deciding how much longer he'll play.
— ESPN (@espn) May 1, 2025
James added: “Something I'll sit down with my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it, and see what happens. Just have conversations with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest."
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, and six assists only for LA to crash out of the playoffs early anew.
LEBRON TRIPLE. CUTS IT TO 2.
— NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2025
MIN leads 3-1 | 3 minutes left on TNT https://t.co/N9bk76Swl5
Since winning the title in 2020, the Lakers failed to get past the Western Conference Finals and absorbed three first-round exits in the last five years.
"It's up to me if I'm going to continue to play, or how long I'm going to continue to play. It's ultimately up to me, so it has nothing to do with anybody else," the four-time champion insisted.
Luka Doncic bucked a lower back injury to topscore for the Lakers with 28 points, alongside nine assists and seven rebounds. Both James and Doncic only played 25 games this season, including the playoffs, but the first year of their newly-found partnership met a disappointing end.
"Anytime you make a big acquisition in the middle of the season, it's always going to be challenging, not only for me, but for (Austin Reaves) and the rest of the group," James spoke when asked the things he and Luka need to work on to maximize their potential.
"There were times where we obviously didn't look so well, but I think we kind of figured it out later in the season, the more games we had. I still don't think we had enough time to mesh, but for the time that we had, I thought we ended the regular season very well to be top three in the West," the three-time Finals MVP continued.
In his 22nd year, James posted 24.4 points -- his lowest since his rookie season — 8.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds while playing 70 games while helping the Lakers earn their first 50-win season under rookie head coach JJ Reddick.
Speaking of Reddick, LeBron expects him to "continue to grow" despite the heartbreaking end to their campaign.
“I thought he handled it extremely well. [I] thought he learned every single day, held us accountable, pushed us. I thought JJ and his coaching staff were great throughout the whole season. That’s one thing for sure - we have a great, up and coming coach that will be great for many years.”
If James intends to return for a 23rd season, he will break the all-time league longevity record he currently shares with Vince Carter.
