LeBron James expected to return to the Lakers for 2023-24 season

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is expected to return for his 21st NBA season in 2023-24, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

LeBron is expected to return to play for the Lakers next season, according to sources close to the player.

(via @mcten on NBA Today) pic.twitter.com/Tk8GyaDCwt

— ESPN (@espn) May 26, 2023

James, 38, flirted with the idea of retirement immediately following Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals Monday in which the Denver Nuggets finished off a sweep of the Lakers.

“Going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about,” James told reporters.

James is under contract for the 2023-24 campaign as part of the two-year, $97 million deal he signed last August. He has a player option for the following season worth $50.4 million. The four-time NBA champion and 19-time All-Star had one of his best seasons to date in 2022-23, putting up averages of 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.

Rob Pelinka, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, said that the organization would give James the time to contemplate his future.

“We’ll look forward to those conversations when the time is right,” Pelinka said, via ESPN. “But I will say this: LeBron has given as much to the game of basketball as anyone who’s ever played. And when you do that, you earn a right to decide whether you’re going to give more.

“I think sometimes we put athletes, entertainers, on a pedestal, but they’re humans and just like us. They have inflection points in their career, and our job as a Laker is to support any player on our team if they reach a career inflection point … and really providing nothing but support for him. Obviously, our hope would be that his career continues, but we want to again just give him the time.”

LeBron James hampered by injury during playoffs

James played in all 17 of Los Angeles’ playoff games despite still nursing the right foot injury which caused him to miss a month of action late in the regular season. Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed Thursday that James played through a torn tendon which could require surgery this offseason.

James admitted the injury affected his play down the stretch.

“I knew I could get to the finish line,” James said. “Obviously, I knew I had to deal with it and deal with the pain or deal with not being able to be myself before the injury, but there was nothing that made me feel like I couldn’t get to the finish line.”