LeBron James is an All Star for a record-extending 22nd consecutive season. Whether or not it’s his final one remains TBD. Speaking ahead of Sunday night’s All-Star Game, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar remained mum on his basketball-playing future.
“When I know, you guys will know,” James reported about how he’s feeling about playing next season. “I don’t know. I have no idea.”
James, 41, is in the final year of a two-year, $104 million deal, the fourth deal he has signed with the Lakers. He’s averaging 22.0 points, 7.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game this season, with the scoring average on pace to be his lowest since his rookie season (2003-04) when he was still a teenager.
James has already missed 18 games this season due to a variety of ailments, meaning he will not be eligible for All-NBA team selection — there’s a 65-game minimum — which means his 21-year All-NBA streak will end. Still, he has shown moments of dominance, including a triple-double in the Lakers’ 124-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks to send the team into the All-Star break.
It ended an eventful pre-break stretch for James, who also missed a game with left foot arthritis and, before that, shared a blunt assessment of his team.
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not,” James told reporters after Monday night’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
The Lakers (33-21) are fifth in the Western Conference. On one hand, they have a point differential that suggests they should be closer to .500. On the other hand, they’ve rarely been fully healthy. Luka Dončić has missed 12 games, Austin Reaves has missed 26, and Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart have both missed 10. James acknowledged the health factor Sunday.
“It’s too hard to really say what we’re capable of,” James reported about the team’s prospects following the All-Star break. “I know that we’ve played some of our best basketball this season, we’ve looked very good. On the other side, we’ve been terrible. We’ve looked disgusting. I think the most important [thing] is if we can get healthy, how many minutes we can be on the floor, how much chemistry with can build with this sprint starting.”
