The Los Angeles Lakers were ousted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
The Lakers lost the first game of the series at home but came back to win Game 2. Then, they lost three straight games, including Wednesday night’s contest at the Crypto.com Arena in 103-96 fashion.
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After the game, LeBron James spoke to reporters and was noncommittal about his playing future.
“I don’t have an answer to that,” James said when asked if he plans to retire. “I’ll sit down with my wife, family and support group … have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play. We’ll see.”
James just completed his 22nd year in the league, and his seventh with the Lakers. In his age-40 season, James averaged 24.4 points per game — the lowest of his career since his rookie year — to go along with 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists. He shot 51.3 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from deep, and 78.2 percent from the free throw line.
James proved that he could still play at a high level, and helped lead the Lakers to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference alongside Luka Doncic, who was acquired midseason in one of the most shocking trades in NBA history.
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Nevertheless, the Lakers ran out of gas in the first round of the playoffs against a scrappy Timberwolves team, and their lack of a big man proved to be their downfall.
Now, James will take some time to decide if he wants to continue playing. James has said all along he wanted to remain in the NBA until he could play alongside his son, Bronny. That dream was realized this year as Bronny was drafted by the Lakers and appeared in 27 games this season.
LeBron has accomplished everything there is to accomplish at the NBA level. However, he proved this year that he still could play at an elite level.
It’s unlikely James will make a decision anytime soon. He still has a few months until the NBA offseason gets underway and the Lakers need to start making decisions on their roster.
For now, the Lakers will enter this offseason looking to build a championship contender around their new superstar in Doncic. Whether or not that include James remains to be seen.
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