Last week, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James opened up about his future retirement.
“I kind of look at it like when you lose a loved one, and you have a funeral," the 22-time All-Star and four-time NBA MVP told Melissa Rohlin of The California Post. “People tend to be sad, but it's also a celebration of life. I think, for me, when I'm done with this game, it'll be a celebration of life and not of loss. It'll be a celebration of everything I've been able to accomplish in this game, everything I've put into it. The moments, all the love."
You’ll notice James’ statement didn’t mention when he plans to step away from one of the greatest NBA careers of all time. The 41-year-old has not publicly shared whether he’ll retire after this season or return for an NBA-record 24th season. But Dwyane Wade, one of James’ closest friends, has a guess.
Wade was recently a guest on The Big Podcast with Shaq. Co-host Adam Lefkoe asked Wade whether he believes this is James’ final year. “Man, we’ve been all talking about it,” Wade said. “I think it depends on what happens this year.” Lefkoe asked Wade for the maximum years James could keep playing, and Wade said, “I think two. I think he could play two more [years].”
James and Wade were both top-five picks in the 2003 NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected James at No. 1, and the Miami Heat selected Wade at No. 5. Wade and Shaquille O’Neal won the 2006 NBA Finals together with the Heat.
In July 2010, James made his infamous on-air “The Decision,” where he said he would take his talents to South Beach and join Wade on the Heat. James, Wade, and All-Star big man Chris Bosh formed an iconic Big 3 (or “The Heatles”) that dominated the league. Miami made it to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2010 to 2014, winning back-to-back championships in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
James left Miami to return home to Cleveland in July 2014, and he led the Cavs to their first championship in franchise history in 2016. Just like in Miami, James and the Cavaliers made it to four consecutive NBA Finals before James departed for the Lakers in July 2018.
Wade and James were briefly teammates again when Wade signed a one-year deal with the Cavaliers in September 2017, but Wade only played 46 games in Cleveland before the Cavaliers traded Wade back to the Heat in February 2018. Wade retired after the 2018-19 season.
Wade was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. James will be eligible to join him as a Hall of Famer in his retirement, whenever that may be.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer as of February 2023, is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers. It’s been widely speculated that James will leave the Lakers and play for another team if he returns next season. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told Rich Eisen last month that the most likely destinations are Cleveland, Golden State, and “a place or two that I won’t say right now, but I’m keeping my eye on.”
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