LeBron James was drafted into the NBA in 2003 and has played for 22 seasons. He is currently tied with Vince Carter for the longest NBA career, and is so old that his own son, Bronny James, is playing on the same team. This has many fans asking, “How much longer can LeBron keep playing?”
“Nowadays, I’m going downhill, when a few years ago I was at the top. When I started my career, I was on the other side of the hill, and today I’m going downhill,” said LeBron in an interview with the Pat McAfee Show. Essentially, LeBron is admitting that he can’t play as well as he did a few years ago, but that he isn’t completely down for the count. This season, he is averaging 24.4 points per game, the second-lowest point average in his career, next to 20.9 points in his first season. In comparison, three seasons ago he averaged 30.3 points per game.
LeBron has been teasing the idea of retiring for a couple of years now. On July 12, 2023, after winning an award at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY), LeBron gave a long speech on how he didn’t know how much longer he was going to play. “The real question for me is, can I play without cheating the game? The day I can’t give the game everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done,” he said.
Fans wondered if he was about to announce his retirement right then and there. But after leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats, he added, “Lucky for you guys, that day is not today.”
Fans also thought that LeBron would retire after Bronny’s first season, but he proved them wrong, making them the first father-son duo to play in an NBA game. Some wonder if LeBron is trying to make the first father-son trio. The running theory is that LeBron might be waiting for his second son, Bryce James, to enter the league. Bryce will be eligible to enter the NBA draft in 2026 when he turns 19.
The fact that LeBron James has been dominating the league for over two decades and staying consistent over the years shows how great he truly is as an athlete. No matter when he retires, he will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Regardless of when his career actually ends, he will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, basketball players of all time.
