In the past few years, there have been plenty of talks about LeBron James‘ retirement plans. When will he hang up the sneakers? Will he wait until Bryce James is eligible to play in the NBA as well? He already made history by playing alongside his son Bronny James. In a recent podcast, LeBron joked he has no plans of hanging up the sneakers anytime soon.
LeBron James Jokes He’ll Play Until 50
LeBron recently sat down with Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce to talk all things Wild Card weekend and many more topics. He even mentioned he was once close to playing in the NFL. But the funniest part came when he was asked about a viral tweet from 2015.
The tweet from 2015 reads, “Lebron is 30, this fuckery won’t go on for much longer, thank god.” Asked about the tweet, LeBron said,
“Yes I saw that tweet throughout my all of my 30s, all of my 30s, and I laughed at it so hard. Do you want to know what’s funny? When I turned 40, the same guy said, ‘LeBron turned 40, this fuckery won’t go on much longer thank god.’ He’s going to be really upset when I turn 50.”
Can LeBron Play the Game at a High Level for 10 More Years?
In a recent interview, LeBron James again talked about his eventual retirement plans. In that interview, he said,
“It won’t be because I cannot play this game at a high level. It won’t be because of that. To be honest, if I really wanted to, I could probably play this game at a high level probably for about another — it’s weird that I might say this — but probably about another five to seven years, if I wanted to. But I’m not going to do that.”
The league leader in points scored said he will miss the game, but he is not going to come back the way Michael Jordan came back.
LeBron Is the Best 40-Years Old Player
There have been other players playing past their 40th birthday, but no one has been as successful as LeBron is at the moment. He is playing in his 22nd season, and averaging 23.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 0.8 blocks in 34.8 minutes per game. No player has come close to those achievements. Here are some Hall of Famers who played at 40+ years: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Vince Carter, Bob Cousy, Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, Grant Hill, Robert Parish, John Stockton, and Steve Nash. Only Malone, Kareem, Stockon, and Parish averaged 10+ points at the age of 40. And only Malone played more than 30 minutes per game.
Will LeBron Be the Oldest Player to Appear in an NBA Game?
The oldest player to appear in an NBA game is Nat Hickey, who was the head coach of the Providence Steamrollers. He played himself for two games, just two days shy of his 46th birthday. For LeBron to become the oldest player appearing in an NBA game, he has to play on December 29th, 2030. That seems far-fetched, but in line with his statement that he can play for five or seven more years. Nevertheless, that doesn’t seem to be LeBron’s plan.
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