LeBron James limped out of Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, his left leg swollen from a knee-to-knee collision and his spirit sapped from a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that ended his 22nd year in the NBA with a first-round playoff exit.
As has been his custom the past several seasons when offering his thoughts on the future immediately following the Los Angeles Lakers’ final game, James said he was unsure.
“I don’t know,” James said when asked how much longer he planned to play before retiring. “I don’t have an answer to that. 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.
“I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So we’ll see.”
James, 40, has a player option to return to the Lakers for 2025-26 worth $52.6 million that he must opt into by June 29 or become a free agent.
Asked about ways the Lakers could improve for next season after losing 4-1 to the Timberwolves, despite coming into the series as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with home-court advantage, James again gave an uncertain answer.
“It’s a business,” James said. “So you don’t know what the roster will look like next year besides the guys that [are] locked into contracts. S—, 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.”
Asked to clarify his remarks, James said that when he referenced his contract, he was not alluding to looking at any other teams to play for.
“Just continuing to play, I don’t know where I’m at,” James told ESPN. “That’s what that is. Not coming back to play here. Just playing, period.”
