LeBron James has reached another chapter in a career that already reads like mythology.
At 40 years old, he became the first player in league history to appear in 23 different seasons, finally making his delayed debut on November 18th against the Utah Jazz.
The Lakers were 10-4 without him, thanks to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves carrying the early load.
But getting the all-time leading scorer back shifted the conversation immediately toward a far bigger question: how much longer will he keep going?
Kevin Love, one of James’ closest friends and former championship teammates, believes the end is near, just not at the end of this season.
“I don’t know how much longer [he’ll play] — whether it’s the end of this year [that he retires], I don’t think it will be. But at the end of next year there’s a high likelihood that will be the case,” Love said speaking to Fox Sports’ Melissa Rohlin. “I don’t want to make assumptions on what he’s thinking or what he’s feeling or how his family is feeling. But it’s coming sooner rather than later and he’s been pretty outspoken about that.”
James himself echoed that reality following his season debut, making it clear that the clock is ticking.
“My biggest challenge this season? I don’t know,” James said. “Just staying in the moment. Just staying in the moment, obviously. Where I’m at in my career and where I’m at in year 23, and understanding that there’s not many more games for me. I don’t know when that is, but just staying in the moment. Just appreciating the opportunity to go home and play the game I love to play in. We’re around a great group. Speaking of in that same vein, this is year 23.”
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