This past NBA offseason Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James inked a two-year extension to remain with the storied franchise. The contract is worth $104 Million, that features a player option after year one and a no-trade clause.
James has had a remarkable career in the NBA that has put him right at the forefront of the basketball GOAT conversation. It has been hard to determine how many years James will play in the NBA after he’s shown little signs of slowing down despite entering his 22nd season in the league.
After another All-NBA season, James finished on the second team after averaging 25 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per contest. With James potentially being the first athlete to get the best of father time, it will interesting to see how the face of the NBA decides to call it a career.
LeBron is set to turn 40 years old this December and after his impressive showing in the 2024 Paris Olympics where he led Team USA to gold, along with being named most valuable player of the tournament it seems like the ‘Chosen One’ is about to have another All-NBA season.
In a couple of years, James will ultimately retire and the next question will become, what’s next for LeBron? The Akron Ohio native has a number of business ventures and investments that he does not have to be in the basketball spotlight anymore if he did not want to be, although, James mentioned in an interview that he owes a lot to the sport.
“You know, I don’t know. I definitely love the sport. It would be great. I see Tom Brady doing it, and he’s been great so far. And, you know, we will see, even if it’s just a guest appearance, you know, one game or two when I’m done playing. But it’s always fun to give back to the game because the game has given me so much. So, if it’s basketball, if it’s football, if it’s whatever, I love the word ‘sport,’ because it’s given so much to me and my family. And it’s only right that I give back to it.”
Picturing James as an analyst would take some time to adjust to after a generation of people have grown up watching him dominate the NBA for two decades. What James decides to do after retirement will be interesting to monitor, however, he is most likely more concerned about winning his fifth championship with the Lakers.