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LeBron James wants to retire with Lakers?
LeBron James would apparently love to win the fifth NBA title of his career with the Lakers. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James wants to retire with Lakers?

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has four NBA titles on his Hall of Fame resume, helped end Cleveland's championship drought that lasted 52 years and guided the Lakers to NBA Finals glory in October 2020. 

Per Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll, James explained on the "SmartLess" podcast with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes that he doesn't ever want to play for a different franchise. 

"I truly hope that I can finish my career with the Lakers," James reportedly said. "However many years that is, if it’s four, five, six, whatever, seven, I hope I can continue to play the game. I love being in L.A., my family loves being in L.A. Being with a historical franchise like the Lakers is something. . . . It’s like me being in 'Space Jam' — I never thought it would be possible. You think about Kareem, and Magic, and Wilt, and Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, Kobe, Shaq and all of them, the whole list goes on." 

James turns 37 years old in December, and he remarked this spring that he didn't think at that time he will "ever get back to 100% in my career" following the ankle injury he suffered in March. While James has a long history of quieting doubters, it seems unlikely he could play another seven years at the highest level. 

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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