LeBron James remains uncertain about his future after completing his 23rd NBA season. He has not decided whether he will play another season or if he will continue with the Lakers or join another team.
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LeBron James unsure of what future holds for him after a 23rd season unlike any other
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James has said it consistently all season long: He doesn't know what's next for him.
He doesn't know if he will play another season, and if so, whether it will be with the Lakers or another team. He — and the people around him — have consistently said he had not come close to making that decision.
Minutes after his 23rd season ended, that hadn't changed.
"I don't know what the future holds for me, honestly, as it stands right now tonight," LeBron said after his Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Thunder. "I've got a lot of time now. I think I said it last year after we lost to Minnesota: I'll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them, and then when the time comes, obviously, you guys will know what I decide to do."
LeBron is now a free agent and faces two major questions: Whether to return to the NBA, and if the answer to that is yes (as many around the league expect), will it be with the Lakers or another team?
The question is not can he still help a team — he answered that emphatically this season. LeBron, at age 41 and in his unprecedented 23rd NBA season, showed he is still one of the top players in the game and an All-Star. For the season, he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists a night, shooting 51.5% from the floor.
"It's amazing what he's doing out there at this age," Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's very impressive. It's hard to put into words. He's not very old in the grand scheme of life, but for the NBA, he's pretty old, and he doesn't seem like it out there. He was a force. He was the top of the scouting report all series. His size gave us issues at times. He was impressive out there. I'm not sure we'll see anything like that again, his longevity and his greatness."
This season was unlike any other for LeBron: He battled more injuries, missing the first 14 games with sciatica and only playing in 60 total (ending his record streak of making 21 All-NBA teams), and for much of that season playing as the Lakers' third option behind and . LeBron also got to share the court again with his son , including playing in the playoffs together.
LeBron James expressed uncertainty about his future and has not made a decision regarding playing another season.
LeBron James has not confirmed whether he will play for the Lakers or another team next season.
LeBron James has completed 23 seasons in the NBA.
LeBron James has indicated that he is still considering his options and has not come close to making a decision about his future.


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With Doncic (hamstring) out for the playoffs and Reaves (oblique strain) missing most of it, LeBron stepped back into the role of primary shot creator and led the Lakers in an upset of the Houston Rockets and into the second round. In the playoffs, he averaged 23.2 points a game with 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.
"I was put into some positions that I never played in my career before. Actually, in my life," LeBron said of this season. "I've never been a third option in my life. So to be able to thrive in that role, for that period of time, and then have to step back into the role that I've been accustomed with over my career or my life playing the sport, and be able to thrive under that, and just my teammates allowing me to lead them under extreme circumstances, that was pretty cool for me at this stage of my career."
On the podium after the emotional loss, LeBron sounded like many great, aging athletes before him, including Lakers' legend Kobe Bryant: His love of the game is still there, but his decision whether to retire or continue is more about his whether he remains willing to put in the incredible and increasing amount of work it takes to get his aging body ready to play at this level for another season.
"I think for me, it's about the process," LeBron said. "If I can commit to still being in love with the process of showing up to the arena five-and-a-half hours before a game and start preparing for a game. Give everything I got, diving for loose balls, doing everything that you know that it takes to go out and play. Showing up to 11 o'clock practice, I'm here at eight o'clock, preparing my body, preparing my mind, preparing to practice, to put the work in.
"So I think for me, I've always been in love with the process and not the aftermath. Okay, we won that game, or won a championship, like I've always enjoyed the process more than the outcome. So that will be a big factor.
"And also, have a conversation with my 12-year-old daughter, that's a big factor; my 19-year-old son entering his second year at Arizona and my wife as well. So they're a huge factor in any decision I've made, so they'll be a big part of it as well."
LeBron isn't going to be rushed into a decision, but it's also one he essentially needs to make in the next couple of months, while teams are still shaping and forming their rosters for next season. By the middle of July, that process is largely finished for teams.
He just doesn't know what that decision is yet.