Report: LeBron James has not decided if 2025-26 season will be his last

Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James really has nothing left to prove as a basketball player. He’s universally considered an all-time great, and he just recently set the record for most seasons played by an NBA player when he made his season debut against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 18.

With all that in mind, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that James reportedly has not decided if the 2025-26 NBA campaign will be his final season.

“At the same time, if James believes this could be his last season — something that sources close to James have insisted that he remains undecided about — he might feel even more responsibility to suit up for every game on what would then be a retirement tour,” Dave McMenamin wrote.

It’s clear that James is well into the twilight of his pro career at this juncture. Not only is he the NBA’s oldest active player, but he’s also on the other side of 40 and will be turning 41 late next month.

Plus, James was a first-round pick all the way back in the 2003 NBA Draft, and all of the miles he’s put on his body since being drafted over two decades ago is incredible. He’s logged over 1,500 regular-season appearances and has suited up in 292 playoff games in total to boot.

However, if James opts to play another year after this season, his game has aged well enough to the point that he probably could. Even at his advanced NBA age, he’s still one of the top talents in the league and capable of being the best player on the floor on any given night. In two appearances so far this season, James is averaging 14.0 points and 10.0 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field.

But if James does indeed suit up for one more season after this one, there’s no guarantee he’ll do so as a Laker. After all, his current contract is set to expire after he gets paid more than $52 million this season, and he will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026.

It seems as if James’ future not only with the Lakers but as an NBA player is very much up in the air, but fans of the storied franchise are likely hoping he will run it back with the team for at least one more campaign.