LeBron James admits future in NBA is unclear after Lakers' playoff exit

LeBron James said Monday nighttime his aboriginal successful the NBA remains unclear and he’s yet to determine to instrumentality to the level for what would beryllium his 24th play successful the league.

James, 41, talked astir his aboriginal pursuing the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff exit successful a Game 4 nonaccomplishment to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He said helium hasn’t ruled retired status oregon a instrumentality to the Lakers, but said thing astir perchance joining a antithetic squad for the 2026-27 season.

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Lakers guardant LeBron James stands connected the tribunal successful the closing minutes of Game 4 successful the second-round NBA playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder successful Los Angeles connected May 11, 2026. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

"I don’t cognize what the aboriginal holds for me, obviously, arsenic it stands close present tonight," James said. "I’ve got a batch of clip now. I deliberation I said it past twelvemonth aft we mislaid to Minnesota. I’ll spell backmost and recalibrate with my household and speech with them and walk immoderate clip with them, and past evidently erstwhile the clip comes, you guys volition cognize what I determine to do."

The Thunder dispatched the Lakers successful 4 games with a 115-110 victory. The squad had been without Luka Doncic, a cardinal portion to the team’s coagulated season. He missed the full playoffs with a hamstring injury.

James led Los Angeles to a first-round upset implicit the Houston Texans earlier moving into the defending NBA champions successful the 2nd round.

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Lakers defender Austin Reaves pats guardant LeBron James connected the backmost successful the closing minutes of Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder successful Los Angeles connected May 11, 2026. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

"It’s astonishing what he’s doing retired determination astatine this age," Thunder prima Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's precise impressive. It's hard to enactment it to words. He's not precise aged successful the expansive strategy of life, but for the NBA, he's beauteous old, and helium doesn't look similar it retired there. He was a force. He was the apical of the scouting study each series. His size gave america issues astatine times. He was awesome retired there. I'm not definite we'll spot thing similar that again, his longevity and his greatness."

He said helium volition sermon his aboriginal with his household implicit a fewer glasses of wine.

"Nobody has immoderate thought what the aboriginal holds, and I don’t either," James said. "I’ll instrumentality clip to recalibrate and look implicit the play and spot what’s champion for my future, and erstwhile I get to that point, everyone volition know."

James, a 22-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion, is the all-time person successful points scored, games played and tract goals attempted.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers walks onto the tribunal to lukewarm up earlier Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder successful Los Angeles connected May 11, 2026. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

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He averaged 20.9 points and 6.1 rebounds successful 60 games played this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.