Lakers’ LeBron James Reveals Potential Retirement Plans

We’re still not sure when, exactly, Lakers star LeBron James will ride into the NBA sunset and retire after what has been one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) careers in league history, but there has been plenty of chatter about what he might do when he gets there.

James has spoken in the past about wanting to be part of an NBA ownership group, and perhaps even the principal owner of a team. If the league does go forward with expansion–the Board of Governors will vote on that this summer–that could nudge James into a retirement timeline. Players can’t simultaneously be owners, so James would have to retire.

Back in 2022, when the Lakers played a preseason game in Las Vegas amid speculation that the NBA eventually would expand there, James sent a message to commissioner Adam Silver: ” I want the team here, Adam. Thank you.”

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LeBron James Still Focused on Lakers

James was asked about ownership ambitions on Sunday, though, and appeared to back off that goal, at least as a driving force in what he will do in his post-playing career. James is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers and it is unclear if he will continue on with the team after this season, or play somewhere else. Or retire.

Said James: “There’s a lot of things that I have on the table that I could tap into if I want to, that (ownership) being one of them. There’s other ventures as well that I’ll continue to explore and then see what will engage me and motivate me post-career. Right now, I’m still locked in on what’s going in right now with our season, and that’s where my mind is.”

 

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Lakers Are 5th in the West

The Lakers’ season has been up and down thus far, with some obvious problems–defense and rim protection on one end, a lack of deep-ball shooting on the other–seemingly tamping down the team’s chances at realistically contending. They’re 33-21, fifth in the Western Conference.

But the Lakers have not had much opportunity to play with a healthy group. James was injured early in the season, and missed the first 14 games of the season. Austin Reaves them missed 22 games with a calf injury. Now, Luka Doncic has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury.

All three have started just eight games together for the Lakers this season.

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LeBron James: Health Is ‘Most Important’

Again, the Lakers have other issues here in 2025-26 beyond who is on the floor. But James said health is the most important problem the team has had.

“Most important for our ball club right now is health,” James said. “I can’t state it any more clear. Not quite sure how many games we’ve had where we’ve had a full roster. We’re over the halfway point and there’s not been many games. Obviously I know it’s been a lot more than over half, for sure, and probably even plus that.

“Our success is going to come down to obviously our health. Our coaching staff putting us in the right position, I think they’re going to give us a game plan every night. But when it comes down to what we have to work with, we have to actually go out and see it. We haven’t been privy to having that opportunity much this year.”

 

 

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney