The L.A. Lakers are heading to an offseason full of questions with a major one being the return of forty-year old LeBron James who will be playing his twenty-third year in the league if he returns for the 2025-26 season. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, "LeBron James is expected to play" at least another season in the league.
James, who has a player option for next season, is still playing at an All-NBA level. While the star can still incredibly play at this age, it's obvious that the four-time NBA champ has gone from First-team All-NBA caliber to Third-team All-NBA caliber in the last couple of years, with him likely destined to struggle with a somewhat major injury at some point of the season.
Despite his age, the wing averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor. His age does affect him though as the former MVP struggles on the defensive end (unless he takes a back step on the offensive end as the first option) and will likely need to move back to the wing spot on the defensive end guarding the less offensively skilled wing.
As the Lakers continue to hope that James comes back for another season, it's clear that the star might be around for two more years as the insider suggests.
Shams Charania suggests that LeBron James will be back next season
James might not have another five or even three years left in the NBA. Still, it's likely that the star could play next season and the year after, with him possibly being done after playing with his younger son Bryce in 2026. Whether that happens or not, it's clear that the L.A. will have to do a lot more work after adding back the legend this offseason.
With no true starting center on the roster, it's clear that the Lakers will need to add two 2-way big men this offseason if the team wants to compete in what will likely be a loaded western conference. At the age of 40, the former Cavalier can still play in this league at a top level. So in all reality, the likely question is does James still want to play at this age or pursue other activities that can take up his time.