For months, some have speculated that LeBron James will end up calling it quits at the end of this season. But he is still playing at a high level right now, and one would have to wonder why he would walk away from the NBA if he still has a decent amount of game left in his tank.
Lately, there has been lots of talk that James will end up returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. He’s in the last year of his current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, and in some ways, wrapping up his career with the team he spent his first seven seasons with would make plenty of sense.
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ESPN reporter Vincent Goodwill said on “SportsCenter” that there is a feeling around the NBA that the 41-year-old isn’t exactly planning on retiring this year (h/t Lakers Daily).
“If he were retiring the league would know it because the league would want to celebrate him on the way out…the feeling is around the league that LeBron will play at least one more season. … There will be tremendous interest around the league this summer should LeBron decide to play and there is no indication that he will not continue to play.”
James may be picking his spots more than ever, but he is still playing at a superstar level, or at least close to it. He’s currently averaging 22 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists a game, and he’s shooting 50.2% from the field. Most impressively, he’s leading everyone with 5.7 fast-break points per game, despite the insane amount of mileage he has racked up in his 22 previous seasons in the league.
Should James continue to play and then hold a farewell tour during his final season, it could be a huge windfall for himself and whichever team he’s with at that time. Anthony Lima of Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the streaming rights to that tour could net James as much as $75 million.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: There is feeling that LeBron will play at least one more year