How many more seasons will Lebron play realistically?

[No-more-rings]

With 19 seasons under Lebron’s belt, he’ll also turn 38 this upcoming season.

[CharityStripe34]

I'm guessing two more. All depends on if Anthony Davis has a bounceback season or two which would help the Lakers possibly become a contender again.

[oaktownwarriors87]

I'm guessing two more. All depends on if Anthony Davis has a bounceback season or two which would help the Lakers possibly become a contender again.

I like the idea of him going back to the Cavs. You're expected to win a ring in LA with Anthony Davis. That's a lot of pressure for an old man to take when he doesn't have a whole lot of help.

In Cleveland he wouldn't be expected to win it all, and he'd have young guys that can do a lot of the physical work. Just helping the young guys win a playoff series would be huge.

LeBron is also going to be looking to buy a part of a team. An owner may be more willing to sell a percentage of their team if LeBron is willing to play a few years with them.

[CharityStripe34]

Physically speaking LeBron is redefining the "aging" athlete, so would I be shocked if he held on for 3-4 more years? Not really.

[RCM88x]

I'm guessing two more. All depends on if Anthony Davis has a bounceback season or two which would help the Lakers possibly become a contender again.

I like the idea of him going back to the Cavs. You're expected to win a ring in LA with Anthony Davis. That's a lot of pressure for an old man to take when he doesn't have a whole lot of help.

In Cleveland he wouldn't be expected to win it all, and he'd have young guys that can do a lot of the physical work. Just helping the young guys win a playoff series would be huge.

LeBron is also going to be looking to buy a part of a team. An owner may be more willing to sell a percentage of their team if LeBron is willing to play a few years with them.

Pretty sure any agreement where a player could receive possibly ownership stake would be highly illegal in the CBA.

[The Master]

This is similar case to Karl Malone, he'll be able to put up great stats till 40 and even longer, the question is for how long he'll be inclined to do so, and if he gets hurt badly (ACL/achilles). With his drive to the game and business approach, I don't think he'll retire in two years while averaging 24-7 for instance, so I'd go for 4-5 seasons unless some bad injury happens.

[AdagioPace]

I don't know but lately he's investing in german bicycle companies (Canyon). He loves health and cardio. A good sign for longevity Kidding aside, as long as muscles and joints allow. He could easily survive in the league for 4 more seasons playing with a lower gear.

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen-canyon-lebron-james-basketball-fahrrad-1.5632384

[SK21209]

He could still be a rich man's Boris Diaw when he's like 45. Who knows, Brady is shattering the mold of aging quarterbacks and LeBron might do the same thing for the NBA. LeBron will decide he's done long before he'd be unable to play at an NBA level (barring catastrophic injury of course).

[capfan33]

With modern medicine and Lebron's dedication I think he could definitely play to 45 if he wants to. I think barring some catastrophic injury it's largely up to his desire to play, much like Brady.

[Mazter]

It's hard to say. LeBron is redefining everything about longevity. So basically I can see him break the most seasons record and even the age record (when playing consecutive NBA seasons), which would give him 25 seasons retiring at age 43

I don't think he wants to become a bench player though, as it won't help his legacy much. And it's hard to see him start past age 40 and season 22, with the unmatched wear and tear he already has on his body. So I think it would be 3 more seasons.

[XTC]

I've honestly given up on Lebron declining.

The dude loves the game, and he's probably the most gifted athlete genetically in any sport. I would not be surprised to see Lebron play 25 NBA seasons. Dude is a freak athlete.

[SNPA]

Until his younger son -not Bronny- makes the league. He engineers playing with both, then retires.

[Cavsfansince84]

So long as his jumper holds up and he can handle a 75+ game grind he could keep going. I think 3 or 4 years will be the answer though.

[giberish]

It depends on what role he's willing to transition to. I'd expect this season will be his last as a top-20 player capable of a star role.

From 2023-24 on he'll have to adapt to a lesser role of some kind. If he insists on star usage and minutes then tank commander is really the only option as his efficiency will fade and his defense will collapse as he'll need all his energy/effort to maintain a star offensive role for big minutes. He could adapt to a lower minute role, where he still has near star usage but only plays perhaps 24 mpg, rising to 30 or so for big games. Or he could step back into a smaller offensive role. He has enough skill to still be useful in a smaller offensive role and he'd have enough energy to compete on defense even as he ages.

If one of these roles appeals to him than he could stay in the league for a while (health permitting). If none of them are appealing than he'll be out of the league after 2-3 years.

[f4p]

i think he'll play all of them realistically. virtual technology has simply not come that far.

[sp6r=underrated]

I'm guessing two more. All depends on if Anthony Davis has a bounceback season or two which would help the Lakers possibly become a contender again.

I like the idea of him going back to the Cavs. You're expected to win a ring in LA with Anthony Davis. That's a lot of pressure for an old man to take when he doesn't have a whole lot of help.

In Cleveland he wouldn't be expected to win it all, and he'd have young guys that can do a lot of the physical work. Just helping the young guys win a playoff series would be huge.

LeBron is also going to be looking to buy a part of a team. An owner may be more willing to sell a percentage of their team if LeBron is willing to play a few years with them.

Pretty sure any agreement where a player could receive possibly ownership stake would be highly illegal in the CBA.

OT: but one of the worst business decisions in sports history comes from the NFL were Elway did turn down an ownership stake.

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article262293607.html

Here is an excerpt from Rovell’s story: “In September 1998, then Broncos owner Pat Bowlen offered Elway, who had just led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl title, a 10 percent piece of the team for the money that they had owed him ($21 million). Bowlen sweetened the deal by offering another 10 percent of the team for $15 million. ...

“At the $4.5 billion valuation, John Elway’s 20 percent stake that he could have gotten for $36 million would have been worth $900 million today, a 1,330 percent return, factoring for inflation. He also gave up the rights of first refusal to buy the rest of the team.”

[sp6r=underrated]

With 19 seasons under Lebron’s belt, he’ll also turn 38 this upcoming season.

Honestly the biggest factor is Lebron's personal life. I'm reminded of something my late father said to me about a former member of the Supreme Court. The Justice, can't remember who, was about to retire, his party wanted him to retire, and people were surprised when he didn't.

My old man pointed out these are real people with personal lives. Basically Dad said this guy was going to retire but now his wife's dead. Who is he going to spend his time with? Probably no one and he knows it. So a job he was fine with is now a great deal and to hell with the party.

A lot comes down to Lebron's personal life. Lebron, as far as I can tell, has a real marriage. Does his wife want him home? If so that's a big factor pushing him to retirement. What about the kids? All of these will be major factors in his retirement.

And his retirement will and should be a major cultural event. This is a man who was pegged in HS for historic accomplishment. He lived up to the hype and surpassed it. He served as an ambassador for the game and never embarassed himself or the sport. Think of all the child stars who end up screwed up, understandably, due to the extreme pressure they faced. Lebron had it worst.

[oaktownwarriors87]

I like the idea of him going back to the Cavs. You're expected to win a ring in LA with Anthony Davis. That's a lot of pressure for an old man to take when he doesn't have a whole lot of help.

In Cleveland he wouldn't be expected to win it all, and he'd have young guys that can do a lot of the physical work. Just helping the young guys win a playoff series would be huge.

LeBron is also going to be looking to buy a part of a team. An owner may be more willing to sell a percentage of their team if LeBron is willing to play a few years with them.

Pretty sure any agreement where a player could receive possibly ownership stake would be highly illegal in the CBA.

OT: but one of the worst business decisions in sports history comes from the NFL were Elway did turn down an ownership stake.

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article262293607.html

Here is an excerpt from Rovell’s story: “In September 1998, then Broncos owner Pat Bowlen offered Elway, who had just led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl title, a 10 percent piece of the team for the money that they had owed him ($21 million). Bowlen sweetened the deal by offering another 10 percent of the team for $15 million. ...

“At the $4.5 billion valuation, John Elway’s 20 percent stake that he could have gotten for $36 million would have been worth $900 million today, a 1,330 percent return, factoring for inflation. He also gave up the rights of first refusal to buy the rest of the team.”

That's a pretty cool story. I had no idea.

LeBron could do a wink-wink deal. I'm guessing he'll gun for one of those expansion teams, though he'll need 3+ billion if he wants to own it outright.

[Ein Sof]

Until he gets 40k/10k/10k

[andyhop]

That's a pretty cool story. I had no idea.

LeBron could do a wink-wink deal. I'm guessing he'll gun for one of those expansion teams, though he'll need 3+ billion if he wants to own it outright.

Its almost certain he will buy a team with FSG given his involvement there