On Wednesday night, the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers played the Miami Heat and at certain times trailed the Heat by as much as 22, as well as, turning the ball over 26 times for a 112-98 defeat, their fifth loss in six games. LeBron James had six of those turnovers, however, besides that he did as much a she could and had 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on 10 of 18 from the field. The Lakers now have fallen to 14-21 on the season so far.
The Lakers may end up missing the playoff for the third time in five seasons since James arrived at Los Angeles back in 2018. James recently stated that, “I don’t have a number [of years I can keep playing], As long as my mind stays in it, I can play at this level for a minute. It’s up to my mind. My body is gonna be OK, because if my mind is into it I’ll make sure my body is taken care of, and I’ll continue to put in the work. I’m a winner and I want to win. I want to win and give myself a chance to win, and still compete for championships. That’s always been my passion and goal since I entered the league as an 18-year-old kid out of Akron, Ohio. I know it takes steps to get there, but once you get there and know how to get there — playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA. It’s not in my DNA anymore. We’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years.”
Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder claimed recently that James wants to play until he is 45. He stated that, “I asked him how much longer he wants to play and he said he wants to play for five to seven more years, He’s turning 38 now, he says 45.”
James isn’t the top player anymore, but he is still amongst the top tier in his 20th season in the NBA. This season he has averaged 27.8 points per game, 8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game and shooting 49.7 percent from the field. He is also set to go to his 19th All-Star Game in just a few months and has a good chance of making it to his 19th All-NBA appearance if he stays healthy.
James made a statement about his time in the NBA saying, “I think about how much longer I’m gonna play the game, I think about how I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level, from a team aspect. I want to still be able to compete for championships because I know what I can bring to any ball club with the right pieces. I think about my son graduating high school soon and going off to college and I’m still playing and my youngest son will be a junior next year and how much more time I’ll miss. Throughout the course of a day, to the weeks, to the months, I think about a little bit of everything. Think about how much of the world I’m gonna see when I’m done playing the game. But at the end of the day I keep the main thing the main thing, and when it’s time for us to work, I lock in. When I have an opportunity to have a day off, I’m still kind of locked in, but I do give myself an opportunity to decompress a little bit by watching other teams or watching shows or spending time with my family. Lot of thoughts, but for the most part it’s been a good ride so far.”
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