The possibility that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James retires from the NBA has been a hot topic among fans and pundits alike in this offseason.
James is now on the other side of 40 after his 40th birthday was in December of last year, and he’s the oldest active player in the entire league.
But it doesn’t seem all that likely that James’ NBA stint is already over, as he exercised his player option with the Lakers franchise for the coming 2025-26 campaign. Plus, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor recently shared that he expects James to “make it known” of his intentions to step away from the game before he actually plays his final season in the NBA.
“The one thing that I will say is that he is going — I believe, based on everything that I know about LeBron and all the conversations that I’ve had with people in his orbit, his general orbit — I believe that LeBron is going to make it known that he is going to retire before he retires,” Fedor said. “It’s not going to be a situation where he plays out the final year, and then in the offseason, he just retires.
“The sense that I get is LeBron wants it all. He wants the farewell tour. He wants all of these different franchises reliving all of his moments against them. He wants all of the glitz and the glam that comes with one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player of all time, calling it quits, eventually.”
Based on Fedor’s comments, if the 2025-26 campaign ends up being James’ swan song in the NBA, it seems likely he will make such an announcement in the not-so-distant future, before the coming season starts up.
It’s worth noting that ESPN’s Dave McMenamin went on record not long ago as saying that the 2025-26 season could be James’ last in the NBA.
“This could be his last year in the league” 😢
– Dave McMenamin on LeBronpic.twitter.com/26AliinV7I
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) July 16, 2025
James will set a league record regarding his longevity when he suits up in the coming campaign, as he will become the first player to log 23 seasons in the league.
His farewell tour, whenever that will be, projects to be must-see television if Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s was any indication. It’s hard to believe James won’t be showered with love and appreciation in arenas around the country considering the legendary career he’s put together and all he’s accomplished at the NBA level.
Though there’s no denying that it will be special to witness James’ last hoorah in the NBA, many fans are probably still hoping he plays quite a bit more basketball before he decides to hang up his jersey. James is still an elite player in the league at his advanced age and averaged 24-plus points, eight-plus assists and seven-plus rebounds per game in the 2024-25 season.
