After the 115-110 Game 4 second round playoff loss to the Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena to end the Lakers’ 2025-26 season, superstar LeBron James expressed uncertainty about his NBA future.
James, 41, has spoken about retirement and not knowing what his would entail at the end of each of the last few seasons.
That was once again the case on Monday after wrapping up an unprecedented 23rd year in the NBA.
“Obviously, we’re still fresh from losing – I don’t know what the future holds for me as it stands right now,” James said. ”I got a lot of time. I’ll sit back, like I said last year after we lost to Minnesota, I [will] go back and recalibrate with my family, talk with them and spend some time with them. And then when the time comes, obviously, you guys will know what I decide to do.”
For the first time in James’ career, he doesn’t have a guaranteed deal or option in his contract following this season, which is unchartered territory as he enters unrestricted free agency.
“None of us knows what the future holds,” James said. “Nobody has any idea what the future holds, and I don’t either. I’ll take time to recalibrate, look over the season and see what’s best for my future. I get to that point, everyone will know.”
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 60 regular season games, with the Lakers going 53-29 and clinching the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference standings.
“I left everything I could on the floor,” James said. “I control what I can control and I can leave the floor saying ‘S–t, even though I hate losing obviously, but I was locked in on what we needed to do. Made sure that, I tried to make sure, our guys were locked in on what we needed to do throughout the postseason, throughout 10 games. And obviously we fell a little short obviously, but I don’t, I’m not looking at, my year as a disappointment, that’s for damn sure.”
James stepped into a third option role behind star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves post All-Star break, with the Lakers having their most successful stretch from late February-late March, when they won 16 of 18 games.
With Doncic sidelined for the entire playoffs because of a left hamstring strain he suffered on April 2 and Reaves sidelined for the first four games of the playoffs because of an oblique injury, James stepped back into a primary option role.
He led the Lakers to a first round playoff series victory over the Rockets in six games.
“I was put into some positions I never played in my career,” James said. “Actually in my life. I’ve never been a third option in my life. So to be able to thrive in that role for that period of time and then have to step back into the role that I’ve been accustomed with over my career, over my life, playing a sport and being able to thrive under that, and then just my teammates allowing me to lead them under extreme circumstances, that was pretty cool for me at this stage in my career.”
James opened up on the factors that he’ll consider.
“For me, it’s about the process,” James said. “If I can commit to still being in love with the process of showing up to the arena 5 ½ hours before a game to start preparing for a game, giving everything I got, diving for loose balls and doing everything that you know that it takes to go out and play. Showing up to practices, 11 [a.m.] practice, I’m there at 8 [a.m.] preparing my body, preparing my mind, preparing to practice, to put the work in. So I think for me, I’ve always been in love with the process. And the aftermath of, ‘OK, we won that game or we won a championship.’ I’ve always enjoyed the process and not the outcome, so I think that would be a big factor.”
James added: “And then also, I’ll have a conversation with my 12-year-old daughter, that’s a big factor. And my 19-year-old son [Bryce] is entering his second year at Arizona. And my wife as well. They’re a huge factor in any decision I’ve made, so they’ll be a big part of it as well.”
James wrapped up his eighth season with the Lakers – the longest stretch of consecutive seasons with a single franchise in his career.
“There’s a lot,” James responded on the special accomplishments of his Lakers tenure. “I mean, obviously winning a championship [in] 2020, stands at the top. I mean, that was the reason why I came here: To restore that level of play and restore this franchise back to what it was known for – winning championships and playing at a high level. To be out there with that group, go out there and win a championship and us competing at a championship level was something I kind of envisioned and was able to accomplish that. So that woud stand at the top for sure.”
