Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ exit from the NBA playoffs, there’s been a lot of talk about what might be ahead for LeBron James. James is 40, and will turn 41 in December, which has led to some conversation that he might retire. But ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania pumped the brakes on that hard on The Pat McAfee Show Thursday, although he did suggest next season might be James’ last:
There, Charania responds to McAfee’s question about James with “How long is LeBron James going to play? There’s no expectation for LeBron James to retire. My sense, my understanding is that he will play at least another NBA season.
“You think about next year, 25-26, it will be year 23, that would set a league record. Year 23 for number 23. The All-Star Game is in Los Angeles, he’d potentially be playing in Los Angeles. There’s a lot of stars that would align for next season, potentially, if that’s what LeBron James decides. …The expectation is he’s going to be playing at least another season, but how long?”
Charania then goes to talk about how Bryce James, LeBron’s second son (who signed with the University of Arizona earlier this month), would potentially be draft-eligible next year, and that could potentially get the elder James to try and play longer still. But the main prediction he’s making right now is that James will return this fall, and that the noncommittal answers from his postgame press conference don’t mean much, as James has often taken time to focus after a season before planning and announcing his next move.
If Charania is right, it sounds like the NBA will have James around for at least another year. And that could be quite important to the league on the business front, especially with next season marking the start of the league’s new TV and streaming deals.
James and the Lakers remain major TV draws. And while the league’s national ratings this year were slightly down year-over-year, they were still quite solid and much better than the apocalypse many had claimed early. The NBA’s first playoff weekend this year also hit historic highs (albeit aided by the timing of Easter Sunday).
The Lakers’ stretch drive after the trade for Luka Dončić was a significant part of that ratings story. And the national interest in them seems likely to continue next season. So at least another year, if not more, of James seems likely to pay dividends for new NBA media partners NBC and Amazon, as well as returning partner ESPN.