LeBron James update: Is Los Angeles Lakers star ready to retire from the NBA?

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James remains productive in the 21st year of his NBA career.

James turned 40 before the start of the new year and has shown no real signs of wanting to walk away from the game any time soon. He had vowed in recent years that he wanted to continue playing long enough to play in an NBA game alongside his son Bronny James Jr.

Bronny decided to forgo his eligibility after two seasons with USC and was later drafted by the Lakers in the second round. The father and son were able to play in an NBA regular-season game together on Oct. 22, 2024 when the Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.

Here’s the latest on James and what’s next for the NBA superstar:

How long will LeBron James play?

James had told reporters on his 40th birthday that he could still play for several more years.

"It won't be because I can't play this game at a high level," James said when asked about retirement. "It won't be because of that because, to be honest, if I really wanted to, I could probably play this game at a high level for about another – it's weird I might say this – but I've got another five to seven years if I wanted to. But I'm not going to do that."

He has not provided an official timeline on when he expects to retire from the game but has recently joked about playing for another 10 years.The four-time MVP was a guest this week on the “New Heights” podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce and was asked about a post on X that surfaced in 2015 stating that James wouldn’t be in the league for much longer since he was already 30 years old.James acknowledged that he’s seen the tweet several times over the last decade.

“You know what’s funny,” James said jokily. “The same (expletive) guy said ‘LeBron turned 40, this (expletive) won’t go on much longer.' He’s going to be real upset when I turn 50.”

LeBron James remains a fan favorite

James has remained a fan-favorite to people of all ages.On Wednesday, James greeted a fan courtside after the Lakers' 117-108 victory over the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena.James handed a young girl a wristband from his arm, and she was visibly emotional as he wrapped his arm around her for a photograph.“A family friend sent me the clip at halftime and thank goodness that I actually looked at my phone at halftime or I wouldn’t have seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half,” James told reporters in the locker room. “So to have that type of connection with someone they can have that type of reaction is what it’s all about and I’ve always tried to be a role model.”

LeBron James still playing at an All-Star level

James is on pace to be an All-Star again after receiving 2,591,287 votes in the third fan return results, only trailing Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic among Western Conference players.James is averaging 23.6 points, 8.8 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game this season with the Lakers currently ranked sixth in the Western Conference.The 2025 All-Star Game will be played at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Feb. 16, 2025. The 2026 ASG will be played at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.If James publicly announces that he will conclude his NBA career after the 2026 season, James will likely be heavily featured and celebrated by the NBA world when the All-Star Game is back in the Los Angeles area.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James update: How long will Lakers star continue to play in NBA