LeBron James sat alone on the end of the Lakers’ bench during a timeout Wednesday night in Miami, the retired jerseys of his former championship teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade hanging above him.
Two days away from turning 38, James had a lot on his mind.
“I have multiple thoughts. I think about the day to day of how we get better throughout the course of the season. But how we get better from game to game,” he said. “I think about how much longer I’m going to play the game. I think about that I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level from a team aspect. I’ll still be able to be compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces.”
While James’ thirst for individual greatness has never been that well concealed — “Chosen 1” — it’s come in the context of competition, his teams always in it as long as he was on the court.
But Wednesday, after he scored 27 more meaningless points for a team that’s now seven games under .500 after a 112-98 loss to the Heat, James reflected on the someday ending of his career —and the circumstances he doesn’t want to be a part of.
“I’m a winner and I want to win. And I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships,” James said directly. “That has always been my passion, that has always been my goal since I entered the league as an 18-year-old kid out of Akron, Ohio. And I know it takes steps to get there, but once you get there and know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA. It’s not in my DNA anymore. So, we’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years.”
The Lakers are seemingly headed to another year without any real credible chances for a championship — the playoffs themselves looking bleak with Davis still out and a roster unable to make up for his absence.
If the team fails to make the postseason again this spring, it’ll be the third time the Lakers have done so since they reset their franchise by signing James in 2018.
James signed an extension with the Lakers on Aug. 17. He can become a free agent before the 2024 season by declining an approximate $50-million option. Because of the extension, he’s ineligible to be traded until after this season.
