Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul has spoken about the topic of James’ eventual retirement before.
When talking to NBA insider Shams Charania last year, he likened his client’s retirement situation to a plane landing in the sense that when he’s close to retiring, there will be a warning.
More than a year after Paul made those remarks to Charania, he sat down with sports commentator Rich Eisen and gave some more thoughts on James’ retirement decision.
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“I have no idea, zero,” Paul said when asked about James’ future. “… I’m really focused on this draft right now. Normally, our process is we kinda weigh everything and see how he’s feeling and all those type of things. … Same process it’s been for the last I don’t know how many years. But then we have some other free agents and so on and so forth. And then he’ll come around to what he’s thinking at some point, and we’ll kinda go over some things.”
When James will retire from the league has been a hot topic in recent years as he’s continued to grow older and accrue more mileage on his body. At 40 years old, he’s the oldest player in the league, and he’s been 40 for several months now, as his birthday passed in December.
James has logged more than 20 seasons in the best basketball league on the planet now as well. He has 22 NBA seasons under his belt, and he can set a new record for the most seasons played in league history should he suit up again in the 2025-26 campaign.
If one tried to guess James’ age simply from watching him play, it seems unlikely that anyone would assume he’s the oldest player in the league, and that’s a testament to his otherworldly health and longevity.
When he first entered the league, the likes of guard Kobe Bryant and big man Shaquille O’Neal were starring alongside one another on the Lakers. To some, that may feel like ages ago. Now, there is more parity in the league and a greater reliance on the 3-point shot, and through all the evolutions the league has seen over the years, James has remained a dominant force.
James isn’t far removed from averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per contest in the 2024-25 regular season. He shot 51.3 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range and 78.2 percent from the charity stripe as well.
If James does play for the Lakers again next season, he will hope to capture his fifth NBA title in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. James is one of the greatest winners the game has ever seen, and he won his most recent title in 2020.