INGLEWOOD, California — LeBron James remains undecided about whether his 23rd NBA season will be his last.
“When I know, you guys will know,” James told reporters Sunday at Intuit Dome before his 21st All-Star Game. “I don’t know. I have no idea. I just want to live. That’s all.”
The 41-year-old Lakers star confirmed he is not on a farewell tour this season, despite getting emotional during a tribute to his Cleveland career last month. He emphasized savoring moments with teammates, including his 21-year-old son, Bronny.
James expressed gratitude for sharing the All-Star stage with fellow superstars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, noting their careers have been intertwined through regular-season matchups, playoffs, Finals appearances, and the Olympics.
“It’s always an honor to see those guys,” James said. “When it comes to me, Steph and KD, we’ll be interlocked for the rest of our careers, for sure.”
On his own season, James said he’s focused on the Lakers’ final 28 regular-season games amid injuries, playoff positioning, and his own recovery from sciatica and other health concerns.
“It has nothing to do with that,” he said about retirement speculation. “Same motivation, same mind factor. We’ve got past the marathon, and now the sprint is about to start.”
James has also considered post-career ventures, including NBA ownership, but said his focus remains on the present: “Right now, I’m still locked in on what’s going in right now with our season, and that’s where my mind is.”
Despite missing 18 games this season, James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double and returned to the All-Star Game for the first time since missing last year, ending a 20-year streak of appearances.
He also commented on the All-Star format changes, saying he prefers the traditional East-West matchup over the current U.S. versus World setup.
“East-West is definitely a tradition,” James said. “It’s been really good. Obviously, I like the East and West format. They’re trying something. We’ll see what happens. I mean, it’s like the U.S. versus the World? The World is gigantic over the U.S. I’m just trying to figure out how that makes sense.”
