LeBron James torn between two huge career decisions

LeBron James is currently in his twenty-third NBA season, officially making him the player with the most appearances in league history, surpassing Vince Carter. Approaching his forty-first birthday on 30 December, the star remains in remarkable shape for his age, placing him among the best-performing athletes of all time in terms of longevity.

He continues to break records, sustain a high level of play, and stay on the court, sidestepping retirement in every imaginable way despite occasionally hinting at it. He is far from a hindrance. Instead, he contributes more than most and possesses a rare understanding and feel for the game. He is generational and unique from every angle.

Even so, everything eventually comes to an end, and LeBron now faces two possibilities. On the one hand, several sources have indicated that he is still unsure whether this will be his final season. The end of the road will come at some point, and it seems the King is not ruling out the possibility of saying goodbye at the end of the 2025–26 campaign.

Nothing is official, though, and one point is worth considering: it would be unusual, given his personality and history, for him to retire without a farewell tour in which he would receive tributes in every arena. This is his final year under contract, worth more than fifty million dollars, and nobody knows what comes next.

On the other hand, LeBron’s uncertainty, as well as that of his ever-present entourage, centres on rest. He missed the first fourteen regular season games due to physical issues and did not start on opening night for the first time in his career.

The Lakers have sixty-five games remaining, and James must play at least sixty-two of them to be eligible for end-of-season awards, as stipulated in the latest collective bargaining agreement. That allows him only three further absences. The rule does not affect the All-Star Game, but it does influence everything else. This is a player who made the All-NBA Second Team last season and finished sixth in the MVP voting after appearing in seventy games at the age of forty. An extraordinary achievement.

Now the King must weigh his options. Awards are part of the NBA landscape, yet even reaching the benchmark of sixty-five games would not guarantee him anything, although he is averaging 17.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 8.7 assists. In the Lakers’ most recent game he recorded 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, suggesting his form may be improving.

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If he stays healthy, LeBron could choose to rest strategically and arrive at the playoffs in peak condition. The Lakers are 13–4, second in the Western Conference, unbeaten in the NBA Cup and already through to the quarter-finals, and they have genuine reasons for optimism. So what will the star decide? Time will tell. Perhaps he will rest in order to be at his best later. Or he might not. With him, it is impossible to predict. He could even decide to retire. The debate is ultimately within himself.

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