LeBron James Answers When He Plans to Retire
LeBron James may not be in this year's NBA Finals, with the Spurs and the Knicks playing some must-watch basketball, but he's still top of mind for many NBA fans. If it's not his legacy being compared to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in this ongoing and contentious GOAT debate, people continue to speculate about his future in the league.
At 41 years old, James is the oldest active player in the NBA, but he showed over the course of the 2025-2026 season that he still has a lot to offer on the court. So questions continue to rise about whether he'll return next season to contribute to a team or if he'll hang up his jersey permanently. And if he does come back, will it be in a Lakers uniform?
Well, in a Time's article released on June 9, James gets rather candid about his basketball plans, sharing when he knows it's time for him to retire.
When Will LeBron James Retire?
In the Time interview, senior correspondent Sean Gregory and James talked about a few different topics, but it was their conversation about James' retirement timeline that arguably sticks out most. When Gregory asked James how long he wants to keep playing basketball professionally, James replied:
"It's up to the mind. Where the mind goes, the body will lay. When I'm not in love with getting to the arenas on game days five hours before to start my preparation, if I'm out of love with getting to practice 2½ hours beforehand, then I know I'll be done. Because then I'm going to start cheating the game."
With that being said, there has not been any public indication that James' "mind" is no longer into playing the game. So until he expresses there's a lack of love and dedication for giving his all to the sport he's been a part of most of his life, I, for one, will consider him to be playing next year. But again, this is just my opinion, and he hasn't firmly announced what his status is for next season either way.
If LeBron James Doesn't Retire, Where Does He Play Next?
Again, giving my opinion, if James suits up for the 2025-2026 season, I think his best bet is ironically to stay put in Los Angeles. Look, I understand that he allegedly had a contentious relationship with the organization in the not-so-distant past, but rumors suggest that it was largely with the former President of the Lakers, Jeanie Buss.
After the 2026 All-Star break, James stood out as a valued third option for the team, and really carried the team when Luka Dončić went out at the end of the season. The current Lakers front office isn't likely to forget that.
It's also worth mentioning that the Lakers still have Bronny under contract for next season, and you can't tell me LeBron doesn't like playing with his son. Additionally, LeBron has a pretty successful entertainment empire building in LA, and he'd likely appreciate being closer to it as he starts to think even more about his post-basketball life.
The only thing that may hinder the continued partnership between James and the team is possible salary demands. Would the Lakers meet his salary demands? Would James lower his expectations? We'll all have to wait and see.
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This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 9:07 AM.