Originally published by LakersNation.com
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James still being able to impact winning at 41-years-old after 23 seasons is pretty crazy to think about. And now, he needs to decide if he wants to keep doing it for a 24th season.
It makes sense for both James and the Lakers to continue this partnership, but negotiations are a whole different entity and unpredictable. James dealt with a fair amount of obstacles during the 2025-26 season, like missing the beginning of the year for the first time in his career due to injury. He still found a way to put together an impressive season and after the Lakers were eliminated, the superstar described what this year meant to him.
“Obviously every season has its own chapter,” James said when the year came to an end. “There were many different points of this season where you’re looking at our team, looking at what we’re capable of. For me, I started the season not playing. Missing the first 14 games, missing training camp, missing preseason. It was the first time for me doing that, so that was challenging in its own right, just to get back.
“Questioning yourself at times if you’re going to be able to get back to what you know you can do at this level. To be able to do that and keep pushing the limit as much as I could at this stage in my career, has been pretty cool. To be able to still make an impact on a team that’s competing, that’s been pretty cool too. Like I said after the Houston series, to be able to win a playoff series with some guys that one, either have never been in the playoffs before, and two, never won a playoff series before. To be in the bunker, be in the foxhole with guys like that, that was pretty awesome.
“Just try to make an impact every year that I’m on the floor. The one thing you know is you’re probably going to have a rookie that joins the team and doesn’t know what the NBA is all about. It’s always been my responsibility to kind of lead by example and also lead by voice to show them what being a professional is all about. That’s always been important to me.”
As James mentioned, leading the Lakers to an impressive first-round series win against the Houston Rockets despite getting not much of a runway to prepare as an unexpected first option was not on everyone’s bingo card.
Championships remain the end goal for James, especially with potentially only one year left. Finding valuable lessons despite not winning a ring shows he came to terms on what to appreciate in these final moments of his career though, which is great to see.
LeBron James reveals what he looks for when watching film
Film sessions are a more integral piece of today’s NBA with practice not being as frequent, so head coach JJ Redick made sure to make use of those throughout the year.
Particularly for James, he is known for his IQ and recently shared what he personally looks for when analyzing film, starting with critiquing his own play.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James still being able to impact winning at 41-years-old after 23 seasons is pretty crazy to think about. And now, he needs to decide if he wants to keep doing it for a 24th season.
It makes sense for both James and the Lakers to continue this partnership, but negotiations are a whole different entity and unpredictable. James dealt with a fair amount of obstacles during the 2025-26 season, like missing the beginning of the year for the first time in his career due to injury. He still found a way to put together an impressive season and after the Lakers were eliminated, the superstar described what this year meant to him.
“Obviously every season has its own chapter,” James said when the year came to an end. “There were many different points of this season where you’re looking at our team, looking at what we’re capable of. For me, I started the season not playing. Missing the first 14 games, missing training camp, missing preseason. It was the first time for me doing that, so that was challenging in its own right, just to get back.
“Questioning yourself at times if you’re going to be able to get back to what you know you can do at this level. To be able to do that and keep pushing the limit as much as I could at this stage in my career, has been pretty cool. To be able to still make an impact on a team that’s competing, that’s been pretty cool too. Like I said after the Houston series, to be able to win a playoff series with some guys that one, either have never been in the playoffs before, and two, never won a playoff series before. To be in the bunker, be in the foxhole with guys like that, that was pretty awesome.
“Just try to make an impact every year that I’m on the floor. The one thing you know is you’re probably going to have a rookie that joins the team and doesn’t know what the NBA is all about. It’s always been my responsibility to kind of lead by example and also lead by voice to show them what being a professional is all about. That’s always been important to me.”
As James mentioned, leading the Lakers to an impressive first-round series win against the Houston Rockets despite getting not much of a runway to prepare as an unexpected first option was not on everyone’s bingo card.
Championships remain the end goal for James, especially with potentially only one year left. Finding valuable lessons despite not winning a ring shows he came to terms on what to appreciate in these final moments of his career though, which is great to see.
LeBron James reveals what he looks for when watching film
Film sessions are a more integral piece of today’s NBA with practice not being as frequent, so head coach JJ Redick made sure to make use of those throughout the year.
Particularly for James, he is known for his IQ and recently shared what he personally looks for when analyzing film, starting with critiquing his own play.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
