LeBron James Talks NBA Retirement Timeline, 'Cheating the Game' amid Lakers Rumors

Whether LeBron James returns for a 24th NBA season depends on his level of mental commitment to the game, he said in a new interview with TIME's Sean Gregory.

"It's up to the mind," James told Gregory before the Lakers opened the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs against the Houston Rockets in April. "Where the mind goes, the body will lay.

"When I'm not in love with getting to the arenas on game days five hours before to start my preparation, if I'm out of love with getting to practice two and a half hours beforehand, then I know I'll be done. Because then I'm going to start cheating the game."

As of days before the first round, Gregory reported that James "remains very much enamored" with the game.

"Hell yeah," James told Gregory. "I'm sitting here talking to you. I don't have a voice, I've got practice in an hour. You think I'm not having fun still? I could have my ass at home, with a hot pack on my throat, having a f--king hot toddy and some scrambled eggs."

James went on to lead the shorthanded Lakers to a first-round victory over the Rockets before his team was swept from the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James played last season with the Lakers on an expiring contract after triggering his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign.

He said on a May episode of his Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash he hadn't yet "really thought about" his free agency decision, and that he would wait until after his family vacation.

"I think at some point, up in June, late June, as July rolls around, free agency gets going," James said in May. "As July's rolling maybe into August, we start to kind of get a feel of what my future may look like, if it's continuing to play the game that I love— which I know I can still give so much to the game, and play at a high level— or if it's not. But I have not gotten to that point yet."

James got back from that vacation with his family last week, he said on Tuesday's episode of the podcast.

Lakers coach JJ Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka both expressed interest in bringing James back for another season after their team's elimination by the Thunder, although Pelinka made it clear the roster was going to be built around Luka Dončić.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported in January the Cleveland Cavaliers would also be interested in a reunion with James. McMenamin and ESPN's Tim Bontemps have also named the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers as possible free agency landing spots for the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Where James ends up next season ultimately depends on whether he wants to continue playing, how much money he is looking for on his next contract and how willing he would be to continue taking on a secondary role beside Dončić in the Lakers' offense.