Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has a big decision to make this offseason. Should the 40-year-old run it back for one more year, or is he finally ready to hang up his sneakers? James hasn’t answered that question yet, and even his agent is unsure what the Lakers’ superstar will decide.
Rich Paul was asked about James’ future on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Thursday. Paul — who’s been James’ agent since 2012 — said he is unsure if James wants to play another year in the NBA.
“I have no idea,” Paul said. “Zero.”
When pressed on the issue, Paul indicated this is how the process normally works with James. At some point, James and Paul will discuss the issue and James will make a decision about his NBA future.
“Normally, our process is you kinda weight everything and see how he’s feeling and all those type of things,” Paul said. “Same process it’s been for the last I don’t know how many years.
“He’ll come around to what he’s thinking at some point and we’ll kinda go over some things and go from there.”
If James does decide to return, he’ll also need to figure out if he wants to stay with the Lakers. James has a $52 million player option for the 2025-26 NBA season. If he opts in to that deal, he’ll remain with the Lakers. If he opts out, James would become a free agent.
While it’s assumed James will remain in Los Angeles, Paul didn’t want to speculate on that during his appearance on Eisen’s show, saying, “I wish I had the answer.”
That shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. It’s early in the offseason and James is dealing with a knee injury. He has plenty of time to reflect on things and see how his rehab goes before making a decision about his future.
On that front, Paul said he goes into every offseason assuming James will continue playing. When asked how much longer James will continue his career, Paul said he believes James could play a couple more years physically.
It certainly looked that way during the regular season. James still performed at a high level despite his age, averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game. At an age where nearly every NBA player is in steep decline, James has found a way to keep Father Time at bay.
It’s unclear how much longer that can continue. James will be 41 at the start of the 2025-26 NBA season and has crossed every accolade off his list. The end is almost certainly coming soon, but James showed last season he still has plenty left in the tank if he wants to run it back.
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