LeBron James celebrated his 40th birthday Monday by practicing with the Los Angeles Lakers and chatting with reporters about where he stands in his Hall of Fame career.
James — the first NBA player to score 40,000 points, the second to play 22 seasons (joining Vince Carter) and the first to play alongside his son — feels he still has more in the tank, but the desire to keep going is another thing.
“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 5-7 years, if I wanted to,” James said. “But I’m not going to do that.”
James was addressing a question about his eventual retirement and what factors will come into play.
“It won’t be because I can’t play this game at a high level,” James replied.
While keeping details sparse, James said that he’s “of course” considered retirement more than ever and he wants to conclude his career with the Lakers, where he’s now played for seven seasons.
“I came here to play my last stage of my career and 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,” James said. “But my relationship with this organization speaks for itself and, hopefully, I don’t have to go nowhere before my career is over.”
James also played at a high level on the international stage last summer, helping Team USA win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics and being named tournament MVP in the process.
James has averaged 23.5 points, 9.0 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game through 28 games this season. The assist average is the third-highest of his career.
It’s coming full circle for James, as the first opponent he’ll face as a 40-year-old will be the Cleveland Cavaliers, with whom he made his NBA debut as a 19-year-old and played 11 total seasons, winning one of his four NBA titles. The Cavs visit the Lakers on Tuesday.
“I had a decade of the 30s, so to just wake up and just be like, ‘Oh shoot, oh damn, you’re 40?'” James cracked.
“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.”
