On Friday, reports emerged that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is set to miss the early portion of the 2025-26 NBA season due to sciatica on his right side, which naturally raised plenty of conversation around LeBron’s longevity in the NBA moving forward.
This news is significant for a multitude of reasons. Obviously, his absence will likely be felt by the Lakers in a fairly drastic way for as long as he is sidelined with the injury. Additionally, it serves as a reminder that James may not be the all-time great player he once was at this point.
Unless we see a drastic change in James’ diagnosis prior to the start of the NBA season later this month, this will be the first time in LeBron’s illustrious career that he has been forced to miss a season-opening game.
James’ legendary durability, which was a calling card for him throughout his career, may very well be waning as he enters his 23rd season in the NBA.
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Because of this, James’ former teammate turned ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins raised the argument that this recent injury should prove to LeBron that he should retire after this coming season.
“I’m not a doctor, and I am not a golfer,” said Perkins. “But I was a former athlete. We talk about father time all the time. And Father Time is here. We have heard LeBron talk about, ‘When the time is near, sit down and talk to his family.’ He is even gonna talk to the word love and see if that is still there. But his body is saying, ‘Listen to me.’ This is three straight years in a row that LeBron James has dealt with injuries that have kept him sidelined.
“His body is telling him, ‘Hey, I have been good to you. It’s time for you to be good to me.’ It’s time to shut it down. Not right now, but at the end of this season, I feel like this should be LeBron’s last season. He should really retire after this season. There is nothing more for him to accomplish. He has accomplished everything. He’s probably the all-time leader in everything. He’s in the G.O.A.T. conversation. He’s 41 years of age, and his body is telling him, ‘Hey brother, be good to me. I need it.'”
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LeBron has teased retirement for quite some time now. However, at this point, he has made no indication that the 2025-26 season will be his last.
Only time will tell whether this injury will change things for LeBron’s NBA future. But either way, James’ focus for the time being will be on getting himself ready to return to action shortly after the start of the upcoming season.
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