MIAMI – Back in the arena where he played arguably the best basketball of his career, james lebron He was asked to look ahead rather than look back and share how much longer he plans to play in the NBA.
“I don’t have a number,” James said Wednesday after the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 112-98 loss to his former team, the miami heat, when asked how many seasons he has left. “I know as long as my mind is there I can play at this level for a minute. Now it’s up to me. My body will be fine because if my mind is there I’ll make sure my le body is taken care of and I will continue to work.”
It was another good night individually for the 20-year veteran, who led the Lakers in points (27), rebounds (9) and assists (6). But Los Angeles lost for the ninth time in its last 13 games, falling to 14-21 this season and moving the Lakers to 13th place out of 15 Western Conference teams.
While James said his mental approach will ultimately dictate how long beyond the two-year, $97 million he has left on his Lakers contract (with a second-year player option), this approach is closely linked to team performance.
Winning, it seems in James’ estimation, is the real fountain of youth.
“I’m a winner and I want to win,” James said. And I want to win and give myself a chance to win and continue to compete for championships. It has always been my passion. This has always been my goal since I entered the league at age 18 from Akron, Ohio. .
And I know it takes steps to get there, but once you’re there and you know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to play basketball is not in my DNA. It’s no longer in my DNA. So we’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next two years.
James’ time with the Lakers was the toughest stretch of any of the three franchises he played for. In Cleveland, he won Rookie of the Year and two MVPs, made five trips to the NBA Finals, and won a championship and Finals MVP. In Miami, it was two more MVPs, four trips to the Finals, two championships, and two Finals MVPs.
As a member of the purple and gold, James became the first player in league history to earn a Finals MVP with three different teams, earning the honor of the Lakers victory over the Heat in of the 2020 Finals in Florida, but he also missed the playoffs twice and suffered the only first-round playoff loss of his career.
Not to mention the Lakers’ struggles this season.
While the topic of James’ longevity came naturally as he approached his 38th birthday on Friday, his decision to answer the question the way he did could have been an attempt to put pressure on the front office. of the Lakers to make a trade to field a more competitive roster.
Since the Lakers big man Anthony Davis was sidelined with a stress injury to his right foot nearly two weeks ago, James made subtle comments about Los Angeles’ predicament – whether it’s renting the Sacramento Kingsconstruction of a roster around its stars in Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox or ask rhetorically after a Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Mavericks“How many times will you try to dig yourself up [of a losing hole] Until there’s too much dirt on you?
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said at the team’s annual media day in September that it would be his job to field a competitive team around James. .
“Let me be very clear: We have one of the great LeBron James players to ever play the game, and he’s committed to us on a long-term contract, a three-year contract. So of course, we’ll do whatever we can, choices included, make deals to give us a chance to help LeBron go all the way,” Pelinka said. “He’s committed to our organization. It has to be a two-way commitment, and it’s there.”
James has reinvented the notion of the length of a player’s NBA bonus. This season, two decades into his career, his 27.8 points per game ranks ninth in the league and his 35.8 minutes per game ranks 19th.
“He’s a fierce competitor,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said after the loss to Miami. “Team, we’re having our ups and downs at the moment. We’re on the wrong side of the win-loss column. So he’s not going to allow himself to be taken out of the mix. He’s doing just as well. ‘a job like I’ve never seen of making yourself available and being able to perform physically at an extremely high level.’
In a recent interview with German journalist Maximillian Haupt, James’ teammate, Denis Schroderspeaking in his native language, said the Lakers star told him he hoped to play for another seven years, until he was 45.
This number may not have been pulled from nowhere. James has long been admired Tampa Bay Buccaneers strategist Tom Bradywho is still playing in the NFL at 45 and won his record seventh Super Bowl at 43.
Schroder told ESPN he hopes James achieves this goal because “the NBA needs him” and because it will be special for James to potentially have the opportunity to play in the league with one or more of them. two of his sons.
James, wistfully, said he had a lot on his mind as he read to blow out the candles on his birthday cake.
“I’m thinking about how long I’m going to play the game,” James said. “I think I don’t want to end my career playing at this level from a team point of view. I will always be able to compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any club in ball with the correct pieces.
“I’m thinking of my son who will soon be graduating from high school, going to college and I’m still playing. My youngest son will be in first year next year – how much time will I still miss. So throughout a day, weeks, months, I think about everything, you know?
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