"Just continuing to play, I don't know where I'm at. That's what that is. Not coming back to play here. Just playing, period."
That's straight from the mouth of LeBron James on Wednesday night after the Lakers season ended unceremoniously. Can you imagine if we just watched LeBron James play his last basketball game ever? On second thought, don't imagine that. I don't want you to get emotional at 9 AM on a Thursday. And by you, I mean me.
For the record, the chances of LeBron actually being done are minuscule. But he wasn't fully committed to anything after the Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers on Wednesday night. When he was asked about how much longer he wants to play, James said, "I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So we'll see."
With a $52 million player option for 2025-26, James is no longer under any contractual obligations. And at 40 years old, although he's obviously still playing at a high level, he is also 40 years old. He's been in the NBA for over half his life. It's hard to remember an NBA without James, and that's why it's hard to believe he's actually done.
Plus, he does this pretty much every year. After the Lakers seasons end, James goes through the routine of telling everyone he isn't sure if he'll return the next year — and then he does.
To be fair, I think James actually does contemplate all his options after each season. But the thought of not playing basketball probably still scares him, so he signs a new contract and runs it back.
"...I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play," James said on Wednesday.
Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like The Whiteboard, share it with an enemy!
LeBron James got his basketball wish
For years, LeBron said he wanted to play with his son, Bronny, before retiring. He's accomplished that. His other son, Bryce, will play basketball at Arizona next year. Whether or not Bryce is an NBA prospect — he's a four-star recruit, according to ESPN — remains to be seen, but maybe he's hoping for a chance to play with (or against) Bryce too before he calls it quits.
I won't try to get in the mind of LeBron James. At this point, I actually think all options are up in the air, but I'd also be stunned if LeBron is okay with his career ending with a home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.