The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the postseason on Wednesday after suffering a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round matchup. Their attention will turn to the offseason as they look to upgrade the roster, particularly by adding a big man.
The first order of business, however, will be figuring out what LeBron James will do with his player option. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, one of the top NBA insiders revealed that the four-time NBA MVP is likely to pick up his option and could play two additional seasons to team up with his younger son, Bryce James, stating:
"There's no expectation for LeBron James to retire, I will say that," ESPN's Shams Charania claimed on Thursday. "My sense, my understanding is he will play at least another NBA season. You think about next year, 2025-26. It'll be year 23, that would set the league record. Year 23 for No. 23. The All-Star Game is in Los Angeles. He's potentially playing in Los Angeles. There's a lot of stars that would align for next season, potentially, if that's what LeBron James decides. He'd be 41 years old in December. He's 40 years old right now. The expectation is he's going to be playing at least another season. The other thing, Pat, is Bryce James, his son, does that factor play into it at all? His son is gonna be, potentially, draft eligible in 2026. If he feels at some point next year, Bryce James might be an NBA player, might be a draft eligible player, does he extend that window?"
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Charania noted that James' non-committal answer following last night's loss has been a trend for about 15 years. He added that the superstar will likely opt into his player option with the Lakers for next season.
The NBA's all-time leading scorer continued to play at an All-NBA level in his 22nd season. James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 51.3% from the field, 37.6% from three-point range and 78.2% from the free-throw line.
Despite Los Angeles' first-round exit, James had a strong postseason. He averaged 25.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 5.6 apg, 2.0 spg and 1.8 bpg on 48.9/35.7/77.5 shooting splits.
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