The Forever King, LeBron James, doesn’t have many playing days left. At 40 years old and with just one season left on his Lakers deal, everyone is wondering when he’ll decide to leave the game.
That date
is still unknown, and when possible, LeBron has trolled us all, teasing the end of his NBA career.
While James’s decision regarding when he’ll stop playing is still a question left unanswered, he’s made it clear that his Olympic basketball playing days are over.
Despite the allure of playing one more time with USA Basketball for the 2028 LA Olympics, LeBron shut down that possibility on his “Mind The Game” podcast, saying he’ll be in Cabo watching the game and not in Southern California fighting for a gold medal.
If LeBron is legitimately considering retirement and it’s still 2025, then the idea of playing in the summer of 2028 might be out of the realm of possibility. However, everything he’s done has been unreal, which is why a then 43-year-old man being one of the 12 best American players is even realistic.
Still, if he’s made up his mind, then that’s that. This isn’t the first time LeBron has thrown cold water on playing with Team USA in 2028. After USA won gold in 2024, he said he couldn’t see himself playing in LA for the next Olympics.
Now that we are closer to the 2028 Olympics, he has remained just as sure that he won’t be there. The Cabo line was probably just LeBron thinking of a nice vacation, but I’d think the King would want to at least pop out and support the guys in Los Angeles as they aim to win the gold on home soil.
Perhaps he will do that, and just in the moment, he was dreaming of Cabo while having some drinks and talking hoops with Steve Nash and Steph Curry.
Fans wanting LeBron and even Steph to run it back for the 2028 games isn’t just about stans wishing to see their favorites. The duo played great in Paris and USA doesn’t win without them. LeBron was named the 2024 Olympics FIBA MVP, and Curry went ballistic against France, putting them to sleep in the closing minutes of the Gold Medal game.
Unless a change of heart happens, it seems that’s the last time the two will represent USA in the Olympics, and it’s another sign that LeBron’s career is close to coming to an end.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
