Beijing time on May 27, according to Lakers Dave McMenamin, James is not expected to retire and will return to the Lakers next season to continue to fulfill his contract. Shams said James expects to take two months to recover if he does have foot surgery and is expected to return to play before next season's training camp begins. Perkins believes James will not retire without a farewell tour, while Bulls legend Pippen believes James is the greatest player of all time, ahead of Jordan.
Recently, James and his family appeared at Sierra Canyon Middle School to attend the graduation ceremony of his eldest son Brownie. It was his first public appearance since he was swept out. The old Jen in the photo looks in a good mood, and next season, Brownie will start playing in the NCAA and playing for USC. If all goes well, Brownie is expected to enter the 2024 NBA Draft. James posted a picture and wrote: "Pride!! Congratulations, love you child! ”
James' previous news of considering retirement came as a surprise to many staff members of the Lakers. There is widespread skepticism that James will actually retire. A source close to James said he believes James will return for his 21st season. He will begin fulfilling a two-year, $97.1 million contract starting in 2023-24, with a player option for the second year.
In the 2022-23 regular season, James averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, and finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the final game of the season (G4 vs. Nuggets).
Shams reported that James will undergo further evaluation to see if he needs foot surgery, which he expects to take two months to recover. "I'm going to do an MRI to see how well the tendons are healing and then see what happens." James said.
James, who suffered a torn tendon in February against the Lone Ranger, returned after a month off and played the entire season with injury. Doctors said at the time that James' injury usually takes more than 4 weeks to recover, but his comeback is coming back faster than ever. Doctors recommended that James undergo surgery at the end of the season.
Today, Perkins spoke on the show about rumors that James is considering retirement. Perkins said: "LeBron will not believe what he says. He won't retire without a farewell tour. The news will go directly to Jenny Buss, Pelinka and Lakers executives. ”
And Bulls star Pippen put James ahead of Jordan when he judged the top 5 all-time in his heart. "Statistically, James is going to be the greatest player of all time, and Jordan was a terrible player before I joined the Bulls." Pippen said.
Pippen said he thinks the top 5 all-time are James, Jordan, Magic, Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Mallon. "It's a good lineup, a lot of people can score, James, Abdul-Jabbar, Malone are all good at scoring (top 3 in the scoring list), Jordan and Magic are a backcourt combination. If you asked me to replace one of them, I might replace the Magic with Kobe. ”