EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James reported to his 23rd training camp on Monday and gave no indication whether it will be his last.
After an offseason filled with his usual extensive work on his game — and a new passion for work on his golf game — the top scorer in NBA history is invigorated and focused on the chance to play a full season alongside Luka Doncic and to compete for his next championship with the Los Angeles Lakers’ revamped roster.
“I’m excited about today,” James said during the Lakers’ media day at their training complex. “I’m excited about the opportunity to be able to play the game that I love for another season. However the journey lays out this year, I’m super-invested, because I don’t know when the end is. I know it’s a lot sooner than later.”
James is also grateful for another year of playing alongside his oldest son, Bronny, a backup point guard for the Lakers — but he claims the possibility of playing in the league at the same time as both of his sons isn’t an immediate thought in his mind.
James’ second son, Bryce, will be a freshman on the University of Arizona’s basketball team this fall, so James realizes that both of his sons could be in the NBA by next season.
“I’m not waiting on Bryce,” James said with a smile. “I don’t know what his timeline is. He’s his own young man now. He’s down in Tucson. We’ll see what happens this year, next year. He has his own timeline, I’ve got my timeline, and I don’t know if they quite match up. We’ll see.”
James will turn 41 in December, but he says retirement is only a vague notion next to his immediate goal of building the Lakers into a title contender. He is well aware of the history he’ll make when he becomes the first player in NBA history to play in 23 seasons when he steps on the court Oct. 21 against Golden State.
“It’s pretty cool to know how many miles I’ve got and still be able to play at a high level,” James said. “For me, age is kind of just a number, but it is reality, too. You look at the history of the game, there’s not been many guys at my age, especially going into Year 23, that have been able to play at a level like that. I just try not to take it for granted and just try to give the game as much as I can, inspire whoever I can.”
After four championships and innumerable individual accolades, James insists he still has various things to prove in his final seasons, even if only to himself.
James is also mindful of having fun every day, whether he’s improving his rudimentary golf game or enjoying his family.
“I feel like you are the age which you tell your mind you are,” James said. “How could I not feel young? I mean, my wife is beautiful. I look good. I look at my age, it’s like the wine that I drink. The older wine I drink, the better it is. I feel great.”
The current season is his eighth with the Lakers, which means his time in Los Angeles is now his longest continuous tenure with a team. He played his first seven seasons with his hometown Cavaliers, followed by four with Miami and four more back in Cleveland before moving to Hollywood in 2018.
But James is still doing the work deep into his third decade in the NBA — and the results are incredible.
James was named to the All-NBA second team last year, marking his 21st consecutive season on one of the three teams. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds while staying largely healthy and playing in 70 games.
Despite the upheaval of their midseason trade of Anthony Davis for Doncic, the Lakers won 50 games and the Pacific Division title while finishing third in the Western Conference last season under head coach JJ Redick — but the Minnesota Timberwolves knocked them out of the first round with dismaying ease.
When James picked up his $52.6 million player option for the current season, longtime agent Rich Paul made several public statements serving notice that James wants to play for a championship contender in his remaining seasons, and he would be monitoring the Lakers’ offseason moves.
Those moves have supplemented their core with Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia.
“I’m excited about getting to work,” James said, “and I’m excited to be able to see what we can do.”
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