Retirement rumors surrounding LeBron James have followed him throughout the season. The 41-year-old has yet to confirm whether he will return to play next year. While the question of when he will retire still remains, LeBron’s plans for life after the NBA have begun to emerge.
With 23 years in the league, James has played alongside several greats of the game. However, his partnership with Dwyane Wade with the Heat remains perhaps the most iconic. The two NBA stars won two championships together. Following his retirement in 2019, Wade has worked as an in-game and studio analyst for Amazon Prime’s NBA coverage.
When asked if he would consider becoming a broadcaster like his former teammate, LeBron immediately shut down the speculation. “My journey is going to be my journey”, the Lakers star told ESPN. Along with Wade, examples of Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady were also mentioned.
But James remained firm on his stance, saying, “I respect everything that they all got going on, it’s pretty cool, I love seeing Melo on TV now. He knows the game. I love seeing D-Wade do his thing. But, yeah, I am not really looking at them like that”. The 41-year-old instead has other plans for his retirement life.
“My wife is going to get a lot of (explicit) time”, LeBron added before sharing the sacrifices he made to be “the greatest player that ever played this game”. He also mentioned wanting to spend more time with his daughter, Zhuri James. “My family deserves all my time. And then, me. I deserve my time, too. Because I’ve dedicated to this sport for so long…”.
While Wade’s broadcasting career may not appeal to LeBron, an executive path could be something the Lakers star pursues. The Miami Heat legend holds stakes in the Utah Jazz and WNBA team Chicago Sky. With James also expressing a desire to own an NBA team, only time will tell how active he remains once he retires.
