Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the first half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the first half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

LeBron James Has Picked Up New Hobby

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Matthew Valento | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is nearing the latter stages of his career and recently picked up his $52.6 million player option to return for his 23rd season.

After an early first-round exit, James is taking time to reset mentally and physically. Seeing how he wrapped up his 22nd season with a knee injury, there certainly is plenty of mileage on his body.

A universal sign that an athlete is nearing retirement is when they pick up golf as a hobby. It appears that James is taking his talents to the green this summer, as he revealed on social media:

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Fellow teammate Austin Reaves is the most notable golfer on the Lakers roster and perhaps that rubbed off onto him. Despite the low-key nature of golf, there are plenty of technicalities and nuances for newcomers to understand.

However, given James’ competitive nature, he will definitely put in the necessary time to take that next step as a golfer. This also opens the door for Reaves and the 40-year-old hitting the course together, with the Arkansas native having a YouTube channel housing all his golfing content.

Going back to that first-round exit, it allows players to spread out their offseason workouts and take a month or two off. Having that downtime is valuable and James embraces it to venture into new hobbies.

LeBron James downplays significance of working out at Cavaliers facility

Despite looking at peace on the golf course, there have been plenty of rumors swirling since LeBron James picked up his player option. As Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul made it known that James wants to win a championship, the possibility of him leaving the Lakers have come into question.

It’s no secret that James wants to win another title, and the Lakers still need to make some roster upgrades to get in the mix. This is not an easy task for general manager Rob Pelinka as he has two stars on two different spectrums of their careers in James and Luka Doncic

Given Paul’s comments, a potential trade request is not off the table as James seems to be seriously contemplating his futre. In typical James fashion, he loves his subtle jabs during the offseason as he was seen working out at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ practice facility. However, he downplayed the significance of him working out at the Cavs’ facility as it is something he does every summer.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Lakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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