LeBron James has been a staple of the NBA for over two decades, but all good things must come to an end eventually.
Assuming he doesn't announce a surprise retirement this offseason, the 2025-26 season will mark his 23rd NBA season, breaking the tie between him and Vince Carter for most NBA seasons.
Unlike Carter or other past stars who seemed to have hit a wall towards the end of their career, James is still firing on all cylinders, as he was named to the All-NBA Second Team after helping lead the Lakers to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
However, a series of Instagram stories on Monday seems to have struck a nerve with fans, as James was out golfing in Maui, Hawaii, at Wailea Golf Club. While the four-time NBA MVP is allowed to have hobbies outside of hoops, many interpreted this as a sign of his retirement looming.
"has to be the last season he plays," speculated one user.
"Bro in Maui golfing ð, wrote a second.
"its over dawgg," predicted a third.
"kingJames what we doing man ðð 1 more," begged another.
"Goat retiring after this seasonð," commented another.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23).
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23).
Candice Ward-Imagn Images
James hasn't given a timeline as to how long he plans to play, but ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania did report last week that he expects the four-time NBA Champion to opt into his massive player option ahead of 2025.
“I’m told he’s likely to opt in," Charania said. "He’s got a player option of about $54 million, a massive player option. That’s likely. That’s the plan. But again, his option date is June 29. So he still has about a month to figure it out."
Aside from golfing, James has also been pumping out episodes of his podcast with Steve Nash, "Mind the Game."
Although the 40-year-old James is up there in age for an athlete, he did average 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game this past season. As Charania also said in his report, James wants to make sure he is in a position to contend moving forward.
Regardless of what he decides, fans are hoping there's much more hoops to be played for him.