Year 20 for LeBron James was full of ups and downs as he and the Los Angeles Lakers started the 2022-23 season in a 2-10 hole.
After such a brutal start to the year, many left the Lakers for dead when it came to making the playoffs let alone contending for a title. However, Los Angeles managed to turn things around after getting reinforcements at the trade deadline and made a run all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Despite a bad foot that might require surgery in the offseason, James played well enough to get the Lakers within shouting distance of their 18th NBA championship. However, now the organization and its fans must wait to find out if James was serious about retiring after teasing he could be done following getting swept by the Denver Nuggets. His agent Rich Paul didn’t do much to quell any concerns about the King retiring as played it coy when asked about the subject.
As the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Nuggets wear on, James has been enjoying his time off. The 38-year-old was recently in France to take in Le Mans, the oldest active endurance racing event. James got the opportunity to kick off the festivities by waving the French flag, via Eurosport:
LeBron ? Le Mans@KingJames gets the race underway ?#LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/XYXi9LowE6
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 10, 2023
James also got to practice his French as he also announced for the drivers to start their engines:
LeBron's French is not too shabby ???#LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/607b3UvNz7
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 10, 2023
It’s a special moment for James as this is the 100th anniversary of Le Mans. He joins a long list of celebrities that have served as the official starter for the race, including Rafael Nadal and Brad Pitt, among others.
While a fun time for fans of Le Mans to see James, the basketball world anxiously awaits what he’ll do about his NBA career. Most people believe that he’ll be returning for Year 21, but until he officially confirms it Lakers fans will be on edge.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar believes LeBron James has nothing left to prove in NBA
A four-time NBA champion, MVP and Finals MVP, James has done just about everything in the NBA that a player could hope to do. This past season, James added to his historic resume by becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Lakers great Kareen Abdul-Jabbar.
Abdul-Jabbar is one of the few peers James has when it comes to accolades and he came out and said that the latter has nothing left to prove in the NBA.
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