The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few teams who can boast about having LeBron James, one of the greatest players to ever do it, donning their jersey.
Even at 36 years old, James is still pushing strong and removing any tropes about age potentially affecting his ability to perform at the level he’s reputed for.
However, even though James is averaging around 25 points to go along with nearly eight rebounds and eight assists for a Lakers squad that desperately needs him to excel, conversations and rumors about when the 18-year veteran will hang up the sneakers have been prevalent for a while now.
Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss revealed some conversations with James about when he has thought about retiring, via ESPN’s First Take:
Well, it is like a really good match. We want him to stay around as long as he wants to stay around. Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] played until he was 42. LeBron said something the other day about how he probably won’t play when he’s 46, so maybe somewhere between now and 46, so another 10 years, whatever he wants to do. We love having him. I have to say he drafted a really good All-Star team yesterday. He knows basketball, he’s competitive. We’re having a lot of fun having him around, but the one thing that’s missing are the fans.
James has oftentimes mentioned how he’d love to keep playing in the league until his son, Bronny James, enters the NBA, but only time will tell if that actually materializes.
Buss also explained how the team wants to add more championships to their trophy cabinet while James is playing, which would require the Lakers to likely exceed the luxury tax. Buss discussed the team’s willingness to pay more in luxury tax , so it’ll be interesting to analyze what moves they’re planning to make, if any.
James becomes part-owner of Red Sox
Even though James is continuing his playing career, he has already begun planning for life after basketball with a number of business ventures. The most recent was him becoming a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox, which he considers among his greatest accomplishments.
“Well, first of all, it’s great to be with such a great group with FSG, they’ve done so many great things over the years and just that collective group of people, they’re just amazing to be partners with,” James said. “As far as the Red Sox, obviously a historical franchise. We know the history of the World Series championships that they’ve brought back to Boston and the players that has come through there and the legacy that they hold in that area.
“So I think for me and my partner Maverick, to be the first two black men to be a part of that ownership group in the history of that franchise, I think it’s pretty damn cool.”
James also added that he hopes to become an NBA owner one day as well, so it may not be long before he is with Buss in the league’s Governor meetings.
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