“I am a Laker and I’m happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years and hopefully it stays that way,” LeBron said, according to ESPN. “But I don’t have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I’ll be in. Hopefully [it] is with the Lakers. It’s a great organization, so many greats. But we’ll see.”
LeBron’s revelation about where he wants to wind down his career comes two weeks after the Golden State Warriors reportedly reached out to the Lakers about making a trade for the 20-time NBA All-Star forward at the league’s trade deadline on Feb. 8.
In the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, LeBron had indicated he was unhappy with his team’s performance so far this season. In late January, LeBron tweeted out an hourglass emoji in the middle of the night following the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks. When reporters then asked him if he knew what he would decide this offseason about returning to Los Angeles, LeBron said “no” he did not.
LeBron won one of his four NBA titles with the Lakers in 2020, but the chances of Los Angeles winning another this season are looking increasingly slim.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Despite winning the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament in December, the Lakers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 30-26 record. That’s good enough to get Los Angeles into the NBA’s play-in tournament for the playoffs, but it’s not a record that invokes much confidence in the team’s chances for another title run. The lowest-seeded NBA team to ever win the championship was the No. 6-seed Houston Rockets in 1996.
LeBron James.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty
LeBron also told reporters on Sunday that there’s “not many” seasons left in his NBA career as he plots out the end of his career. “I don’t know how it’s going to end, but it’s coming,” LeBron said. “It’s coming, for sure.”
Be the first to comment