Four ways LeBron James' unprecedented 23rd NBA season could go

The lone signs of LeBron James wrong the locker country an hr earlier the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason opener tipped disconnected successful Palm Desert, California, past week were his golden No. 23 azygous hanging successful his cubby and a triangular foam cushion placed connected the spot beneath it.

The jersey would not beryllium needed connected this night. The cushion would.

Of the 42 players listed connected the Lakers' and Phoenix Suns' grooming campy rosters, 22 were calved successful the 2000s and 19 were calved successful the 1990s.

And one, James, was calved successful 1984 -- 5 months earlier Suns caput manager Jordan Ott.

The 40-year-old James didn't play successful the accumulation crippled aft being constricted to airy shooting done the archetypal 3 days of grooming campy due to the fact that of nervus irritation successful his glute, according to Lakers manager JJ Redick. The cushion, though, worked a afloat night, arsenic his spot successful the locker country and during the crippled astatine the extremity of the bench.

When James yet emerged successful the locker room, wearing a T-shirt with the "Forever King" tagline from his latest Nike advertisement run printed connected the front, helium was asked by a newsman if helium was acceptable to statesman an unprecedented 23rd season.

Before James could answer, Lakers defender Austin Reaves chimed in.

"You got different 5 seasons successful you," helium said.

James' eyes widened, a grin spreading crossed his face.

"Why not six oregon seven, get to 30?" the newsman continued.

"Yeah, acceptable a record!" Reaves added.

James turned toward Reaves and smirked: "I already acceptable a record."

Indeed, determination person been astir 5,000 players to suit up successful the NBA, and James is the lone 1 to instrumentality astir for 23 seasons.

He has besides scored much regular-season points than anyone other successful league past (42,184), scored much postseason points (8,289), made much All-Star games (21) and was a portion of the archetypal progressive father-son duo to stock the tribunal arsenic players unneurotic erstwhile helium and Bronny James checked successful against the Minnesota Timberwolves connected opening nighttime past fall.

The accomplishments -- including the 4 MVPs, 4 championships and 4 Finals MVPs -- are well-documented. But if L.A. represents the 4th fourth of James' vocation aft the archetypal 3 were spent successful Cleveland, Miami and Cleveland erstwhile more, the question present is whether the timepiece is genuinely moving retired -- oregon if helium volition propulsion this happening to overtime.

As James embarks connected his eighth play with the Lakers -- the longest consecutive stint he's had with immoderate of the franchises he's played for -- helium is playing connected an expiring declaration for the archetypal clip aft helium exercised his $52.6 cardinal enactment for the 2025-26 play successful June without negotiating for an extension.

During the Lakers' yearly media time past week, the archetypal question James fielded was astir retirement.

"I don't know," said James, who earned second-team All-NBA honors successful his 22nd season. "I'm excited astir the accidental to play the crippled that I emotion for different season. And nevertheless the travel lays retired this year, I'm conscionable ace invested. Because, similar you said, I don't cognize erstwhile the extremity is, but I cognize it's a batch sooner than later."

The Lakers, who volition beryllium without James for the adjacent 3 to 4 weeks arsenic helium deals with sciatica successful his close side, are coming disconnected a play successful which they traded for 26-year-old superstar Luka Doncic and secured the No. 3 effect successful the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But they fell to the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves successful 5 games.

After James opted into his declaration to enactment successful L.A., his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, issued a connection to ESPN's Shams Charania that galore interpreted arsenic an denotation that James could decorativeness his vocation determination else.

"LeBron wants to vie for a championship," Paul t...