LeBron James ‘hopefully’ won’t retire with team other than Lakers in ideal plan

On the day LeBron James turned 40 years old, the Lakers star acknowledged that he could but wont play between five and seven more seasons and, perhaps more importantly, reaffirmed a desire to end his career in Los Angeles.

I think thats the plan, James told reporters Monday of retiring with the Lakers.

I would love for it to end here.

That would be the plan.

I came here to finish the last stage of my career and to finish it off here.

...

Hopefully I dont have to go nowhere before my career is over.

James, though, also said Friday that he understands how the business of basketball works, while adding that once he retires, he wont un-retire like quarterbacks Tom Brady and Brett Favre did during their careers.

It marked an answer similar to the one he gave last year at the NBA All-Star Game , when James said that he has been happy being a Laker the last six years and hopes it stays that way.

I dont have any answers on how long it is or what uniform, James continued, but I hope its with the Lakers.

Still, speculation about his eventual retirement has followed James throughout the latter portion of his career, both before and after the Lakers selected his son, Bronny, in the second round and the pair made father-son NBA history by being the first to appear in the same game.

James arrived in Los Angeles during free agency ahead of the 2018-19 season, and he helped the Lakers win the title when the NBA shifted its season to the Disney bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, James struggled at times and encountered a brutal 3-pointer drought across four-plus games and missed two games while away from the team due to personal reasons earlier this month.

Still, he has averaged 23.5 points, 9.0 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game entering Tuesdays clash with the Cavaliers, with the Lakers sitting fifth in the Western Conference and eight games behind the Thunder for the top spot.

To be honest, if I really wanted to, I probably could play this game at a high level ...

another five to seven years if I wanted to, James said.

But Im not gonna do that..

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