LeBron James Retirement Rumors: Final curtain call for LeBron James?

Name: LeBron James Retirement Rumors: Final curtain call for LeBron James?
Uploaded: 2025-09-26T20:47:14+00:00
Duration: 27 min 3 s
Channel: Better Days Sports

Better Days Sports

Is this the end of an era? 👑 With LeBron James entering the twilight of his career, fans and analysts everywhere are asking: Is it time for LeBron to hang it up? In this video, we break down LeBron’s current performance, his impact on the Lakers, and whether this could be his final curtain call in the NBA.

What do you think—is it time for LeBron James to retire? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

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00:00What's up everybody? My name is Trey. This is Ramsey. Welcome back to Better Day Sports.

00:04So happy that you're here with us because we've had some technical difficulties, but we are.

00:09We figured it out, okay?

00:12And we are just having a conversation and we really wanted you to be, I guess, a fly on the wall

00:18so you can be a part of this conversation too.

00:20It's just about LeBron's farewell tour.

00:24But Ramsey, kind of tell where you stand and I think this is a good one.

00:29So we'll bounce this back and forth.

00:31You know, so I have some thoughts when it comes to LeBron.

00:37You know, the farewell tour as a whole, right?

00:41So my hot take is LeBron's been in the league since 2003.

00:46It's 2025.

00:49I'm not about to sit here and act like what he's doing is nothing short of miraculous

00:53and amazing.

00:54Can I take that away from him?

00:55The fact that he's producing at this age is a testament in itself to how amazing he is.

00:59I can't take that away from him either.

01:01But he is also about to be in his 22nd season in the league.

01:06And I'm not about to just sit here and act like LeBron's AARP card in terms of NBA mileage

01:11was not cashed 15 years ago.

01:14But I think he is definitely fighting round for round with Father Tom.

01:22But it's a reason that Father Tom is undefeated.

01:24And I just think that we need to level our expectations to what it really comes down to

01:32how LeBron's last years in the league, even if years is a plural term, are going to play out.

01:39Because one of my hot takes is this could possibly be his last season in the league.

01:44But it's just the way that it's shaping out.

01:49And I had a feeling about it going into this season.

01:53But, you know, the league always loves to garner attention.

01:56There was a commercial that stood out to me.

01:58And the way that the commercial ended was a LeBron commercial.

02:02And it was a Nike commercial.

02:04And the reporter goes, hey, LeBron.

02:05So do you have any thoughts about what you're going to do next year?

02:08And it just looks in the camera.

02:10And before he can answer, they cut it.

02:12So I don't know if it's premonition.

02:15I don't know if it's just me looking into something a little too deep.

02:19But I'm like, okay, is Nike trying to tease something that they already know that's about to happen?

02:26Is LeBron, you know, I just have some thoughts.

02:30I mean, it's a good cliffhanger.

02:33If nothing else.

02:33It gets the conversation going.

02:35Like, I feel, and we talked about this earlier, that LeBron legitly could play for five more years.

02:44Now, would he be a top ten player in the league?

02:48No.

02:49I feel like he would definitely probably be outside of that.

02:52Depending on what the rest of the landscape looks like, obviously.

02:55But I think our conversation of LeBron always having to be the best player in the world on his team at all points of time, I think we have to let go of that.

03:07I feel like some people have.

03:09It's now that Luka came over.

03:10They're like, oh, this is Luka's team.

03:11LeBron's going to hand over the roles.

03:13But it hasn't necessarily come to fruition.

03:15I think it's going to help out, you know, Luka's in shape.

03:17Now, this really feels like, to me, Miami felt after they lost that championship when LeBron was there.

03:29Like, they just needed to kind of get over the hump and things to kind of come together completely.

03:35Just the fact that they were there was amazing, just on their talent.

03:38But they just needed something else that they just didn't yet have.

03:42And I feel like this might be the year for the Lakers.

03:44And if that's the case, LeBron might retire after they win a ship.

03:47He might say, okay, I'm good.

03:49Like, you know what?

03:50This is a great way to go out is on top.

03:51But if they go out, Western Conference Finals, and he's like, man, I have some more juice.

03:57Like, we should have won that game.

03:58Or if he misses a shot, he's like, man, I should have hit that.

04:01Like, it's not like his body broke down or the team was bad.

04:05It was just maybe some bad things just didn't go their way.

04:09I could see him playing for a couple more seasons.

04:12Specifically because I think he wants to play with his second kid.

04:14I think that is a milestone that he knows if he reaches it, there's not going to be very many other people ever that are going to hit that milestone.

04:24Not only did you make it to the league, you had two kids that made it to the league.

04:28Like, I know we say, oh, he's just record chasing and stuff.

04:32But that stuff matters.

04:34And if we're all being honest, it would matter to us, too, in a sense, if we're being honest.

04:39So, yeah.

04:41But see, that's where I have an issue.

04:44Not necessarily an issue.

04:45I guess I could just, I scratch my head a little bit sometimes when it just comes to certain perspectives around LeBron and playing with, sharing the court with his children.

04:55It's just, okay, so you mean to tell me that this man who has done all he can, one rings, all-time scorer, arguably could be on the top three of the all-time assist board.

05:11But he's not going to catch John Stockton.

05:12But he could be there.

05:13But, you know, I mean, it's just, like, what are we really doing here?

05:17You know, why are we leveraging our hopes of LeBron continuing his NBA career on his desire to play with his children?

05:27You know, I don't get the, okay, I will say I understand the enigma that surrounds the fact that he will be probably the only player to play with two of his children as teammates.

05:38But also, that's not, so the argument isn't I'm only in the league still to play with my second kid.

05:45Because I think we could argue that he's still arguably top ten in the league right now.

05:51And you're saying, so, yes, I know he's older, but it's not like he's injured.

05:56It's not like he's been playing terribly.

05:57He's still playing relatively well.

05:59He's 40.

06:01Yeah, and he's playing well.

06:04Not only for somebody that's 40, he's playing well in general across the field.

06:08So, he's just, he's not, it's, I think it would be different for me if LeBron was 40, but playing how, like, Kobe was playing the back half of his career.

06:21Like, when he was ready, when you were like, oh, it's time for him to retire.

06:25Like, he's been injured too many times.

06:27Like, this is, like, it's time for you to hang it up, Kobe.

06:30Like, we can see that you're just not the same player anymore.

06:33And we've seen LeBron regress when it comes to the athletic ability, but he's just not at that point where I'm like, oh, you're, like, you're driving on the rims.

06:43It's time for you to hang it up.

06:44Like, I still feel like there's a lot of tread on those tires, to be honest with you.

06:47Well, it's a lot of tread on those tires because LeBron did not play the game that Kobe Bryant played the game.

06:52Like, yeah, completely different players, different eras, everything.

06:57Like, they were, like, most people in, like, Vince Carter, Tim Duncan, um, Dirk, like, pretty much nobody has aged like this across any sport.

07:13Tom Brady, maybe, like, for football.

07:15But, like, we've just not seen this type of longevity in a career.

07:21And I say, like, he's playing well.

07:23So, it's not, like, yeah, sure, added bonus he wants to play with this kid, probably.

07:26I would say it's probably pretty cool.

07:28But it's definitely not why he's still in the NBA.

07:30It's, I'm still a top player in the world, and I feel like I can win a ring.

07:35Maybe I'm not the best player in your team anymore.

07:37I might be your second best, but at any point in time, I can be your number one.

07:40That's why when people are, like, like, it's time for him to possibly retire, I'm like, why?

07:45He's still, like, for players right now, if they were having the seasons that he's been having, he still looks like a Hall of Fame type of player at this stage of his career.

08:03And I'm not saying that he's not.

08:07LeBron's greatness will not be, you know, understated.

08:10And this is coming from a Bulls fan, and I'm saying that.

08:12You know, I think the prognosis of this whole thing when it comes to this infatuation with, like, LeBron and these later years of his career,

08:23this season is going to be very, very telling on how LeBron is going to walk out and leave us, you know, do the Kobe Mamba mic drop, for so you say.

08:42And the reason I say that is because, okay, like I said, he is 40 years old.

08:47This is season 22, 22, 22, I don't, I don't think I can overstate that enough, okay, you know, I, 22 years is a lot.

09:04Kobe Pitt played 20, John Stockton played 20, Vince Carter played 20.

09:11I don't know, right, but they're just at completely different places at that time.

09:19Like, I don't know.

09:22Like, unless it's a major injury or he just decides when he wakes up one day where he's like,

09:27I just don't feel like playing basketball anymore.

09:30I just don't see any reason for him not to continue to play basketball.

09:34I don't even think it's injuries at this point.

09:36I think that, you know, LeBron is just going to get at that age.

09:40You know, our parents always said at the same time, you know, eventually, you know,

09:43your body is going to, you know, that check-in light is going to come on.

09:48And, you know, it's, and I think that in LeBron's case,

09:52we've never really seen him deal with a substantial injury throughout his career.

09:55I, we, we saw a little bit like two years ago, he had the growing and then.

10:01Come on now.

10:03Look, for LeBron, that was, that, what other, that's, that's what we,

10:06this is the information that we have been providing.

10:08I mean, but that's, that's, that's my point though.

10:10We're going off of him, you know, having a, I'm not, I'm not downplaying the injury.

10:15Strain growing is nothing to play with.

10:16Right.

10:16But I'm talking Kobe Torres Achilles.

10:19Well, thankfully to this point in time, we have not, that's not what we've dealt with.

10:23We've dealt with a severe growing and.

10:27No, no ACL, no MCL, no PCL, no, no, no, no rotator cuff.

10:32No, no lasserie, nothing like of the, all of these stars, no microfracture surgeries.

10:38No, you know, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, all of these, all of these stars where their bodies just started failing them.

10:43We have never seen that from LeBron's camp.

10:46And I'm, yeah, he takes care of his body on another worldly level.

10:49And I'm saying that that is in a way still going to be sustainable.

10:54I see the way that he prepares for games.

10:56What I'm saying is there's going to be days that LeBron's going to wake up and his body's just going to be like,

11:04I really don't want you to play today, but LeBron is going to want to play.

11:10And it's not that he's hurt.

11:12It's not that he's injured.

11:14It's just going to be that, that 22 years of NBA mileage is going to just.

11:21I mean, I just don't think it's going to, like you make it seem like it's going to sneak up on this man and it's just going to come out of nowhere.

11:28I think we're going to, it's going to be, we've already, I've already seen it just based off of how high he's jumping on just breakaway dunks on some chase down blocks that he just didn't decide to go for during the regular season.

11:42So like we've seen the change in his play style, but now with Luca, I think it prolongs his career.

11:50He is no longer, the ball has to go through me.

11:52I know they tried with Anthony Davis, but LeBron was still running the show because Anthony Davis either couldn't or didn't want to take the torch.

11:59It seemed like, and him being able to play more off ball means you get more rest.

12:06And I feel like it's really just going to prolong his career, to be honest with you.

12:09And, you know, on the flip side of that coin, I hope it does.

12:13Right.

12:13I hope that his career does prolong and he gets to play as long as his heart can contain.

12:18However, father time is undefeated.

12:23And all I am saying is we don't know how father time is going to pay a visit to Mr. James.

12:31And it could be not in an injury.

12:33And I'm hoping that it's not in an injury.

12:35That's what I want to make perfectly clear.

12:37I'm not saying that LeBron is going to have an injury plagued season.

12:40Don't want that for him.

12:42Don't see that happening from him.

12:43It's never happened in his career.

12:45I don't see it happening now.

12:46All I'm saying is, you know how you wake up in the morning sometimes and you got to go to the gym

12:51and it's six in the morning and it's cold outside and you already sore from the day before.

12:59Yeah.

12:59And it's just, it's not the fact that you don't want to move.

13:03You can't move.

13:05That's not it.

13:07You think LeBron's not going to feel that times a thousand, even if he doesn't.

13:11It's just like a car, you know, a car can only go so far.

13:16You know what I mean?

13:18I'm just saying, I think that time frame could be pushed out much farther,

13:23especially depending on what this play style looks like.

13:27Luka is going to be ball dominant.

13:28He's going to be playing more off ball on the wing type of stuff.

13:31You've seen throughout his career, at least the second half of it, he's shooting more threes.

13:35So if you're telling me he's going to give me spurts of energy to attack the basket every now and then,

13:40he's going to play a little bit of defense and chase down blocks.

13:42It's going to, it's going to be really nice to have a healthy, like rested LeBron going into playoffs and just throughout his career going forward.

13:53If Luka can be this main ball handler, I'm telling you, it's going to make his, I don't mind it.

14:00Like, I don't mind players playing winning basketball and trying to win more championships.

14:05I don't mind it at all.

14:06I don't mind it at all either.

14:09I just know that there are some players that just, you don't see that for them.

14:15You didn't see it for Kobe.

14:17Never did we see that for Kobe.

14:19That's because he didn't, he didn't have a play style that allowed it.

14:22You didn't see it for Carmelo.

14:24He also didn't have a play style that necessarily allowed it, but people that have that type of play style, uh, and also you, you don't see that from like top 10 normally type of players because they, they became great at that one particular play style most times.

14:45So if they have to adjust, that's just not what their game, their game can do.

14:52I'm with you.

14:53I just, you know, if LeBron, if LeBron could be a, a 1998 version of Scottie Pippen, um, I think that that would bode well for him, but I just don't see LeBron averaging 16, eight and five willingly and playing 22 minutes a game.

15:15I just don't see it.

15:17No, but I could see him probably giving you, I don't know if he would ever score this amount, but I can see him giving you 18, 10 assists and eight rebounds and one or two like, like defensive actual, like sit down in a chair.

15:38I'll give you one or two of those a game.

15:40I think that, I think that this season is that for him, right?

15:44Yeah, I think that's, I think that's going forward with his career and what it is right now.

15:49If that's what I understand the Lakers to be built, like I, the ball is in Lucas hands.

15:56If Luca doesn't have it, it's because he's drawn a double LeBron either has a shot or he's going to swing it and have somebody extra open or throw for an alley-oop or something.

16:05LeBron is damn near seven foot.

16:08So of course he's going to grab a couple rebounds and you're telling me he still can't hit a three or dunk on every now and then.

16:14Like, yeah, like very comfortably.

16:17Yes.

16:17See, curtain call is a strong word and not necessarily one that I would use because if curtain call means you coming out of like your prime after that last championship with Lakers, I would have said it was, it's closing.

16:43Like, it's, like, it's been closing for LeBron, in my opinion, for being the number one best player on your team, taking you to a championship.

16:52I, no, I've been closing that window for a while now.

16:56That's why I say, man, curtain call, that curtain is closing.

16:59That's, that's what I, that's what I mean.

17:01That curtain is slowly coming down.

17:03You know, the final act is over.

17:04We've already been through the final act.

17:07Same.

17:07We are seeing the end of the movie.

17:09That's what I want you to understand.

17:11Right.

17:11Okay, see, I also don't feel that way.

17:14I also don't feel that way.

17:15I feel like with this play style, Luka, if he is playing how Luka's playing right now in the EuroLeague, which is legit MVP caliber type of Luka, for whatever reason, Luka's been telling me all offseason that Marcus Smart is still a defensive player of the year type of player.

17:33Okay.

17:34Luka said he's never worked out with weights before.

17:37All right, I, I, I, a little hard for me to believe, but if that's the case, then you're telling me we should have a championship caliber roster.

17:48And because of that, I'm like, LeBron, if you can give me 18, 10, and eight, and we win a championship, and Luka's doing all the work, run me back as many of those as I can get.

17:59LeBron has two seasons max left in the league.

18:04Ah, see, that's wild.

18:07Max.

18:08Max.

18:09And I mean this with the utmost respect.

18:11He has two years.

18:13All right, so I will take the over.

18:16I will take the over.

18:17And what do you want the bet to be?

18:19The bet should be something simple.

18:20Um, it, let's do 100 push-ups.

18:29Okay, so you're saying LeBron is retired out of the league.

18:372027.

18:39Okay, all right.

18:41We have it all.

18:41I'm glad we recorded this.

18:43We have this in the books.

18:45100 push-ups on the line.

18:47And because I, look, okay, now, if season, 2026 season.

18:54Okay, so how do you, how do you see their season going then?

18:58Like a season this year?

19:00Yeah.

19:01Uh, their ceiling.

19:06Number four or five in the, in the West.

19:10Knocked out first round.

19:12No, that's, I said ceiling.

19:14I said ceiling.

19:14So their ceiling, they'll get knocked out in the second round.

19:20Because the Lakers don't have the sustainable depth to survive the Western Conference gauntlet.

19:25Um, they have Luka, they have LeBron.

19:28They've been struggling with center since they've traded for Luka.

19:32It's, their assets are tied.

19:33They do not have the depth to be a successful team in the West compared to other teams that are in the West.

19:38And that's just facts based on, based on personnel, based on experience, and based on how, you know, it looks.

19:45I'm just being as realistic as possible.

19:46I think it's, you know, really, in a really good system, they can be number four, number five.

19:50They might surprise somebody in the first round.

19:52But after that, I think that, you know, the air is going to, the air is going to go out a little bit.

19:57I mean, look at Golden State.

19:58Yeah, I'm not, I'm not mad at it.

20:02I feel like this year is going to be a lot harder than last year was.

20:05I feel like they really had a chance last year.

20:07I don't know what happened to them in playoffs.

20:11But this may be a lot tougher.

20:13I need, I need LeBron to come out to the East, to be honest with you.

20:16Like, just come out to the East.

20:17The West, the West ain't where it's at.

20:21You don't want to be in the West anymore.

20:22Come out to the East.

20:23Come to a team that has been bad and will probably have some high picks to get your son in the future.

20:32And come on out.

20:34Come out to the 76ers.

20:35Come out to the 76ers.

20:36Okay, I knew that's where this angle was going.

20:38I'm out.

20:39All right.

20:40Look, I'm trying to get my team as much health as possible.

20:42Yeah, your team's health rests on the health of Joel Embiid's knees, so.

20:49Don't worry, we, we, he's going to retire soon.

20:53So, we're back in the process.

20:56We, okay, we need to talk about this.

21:00We took Edgecombe when we had Jarrett McCain, who was recovering from ACL surgery.

21:12Along with Maxie, who all are exactly the same size.

21:20We lost depth.

21:24At our forward position.

21:26You forget who your general manager is?

21:29Oh, no, no, no.

21:30You know what he did?

21:31You know what he did?

21:32Big moves this offseason.

21:35You already, okay, I'll tell you, because you look a little puzzled.

21:37We re-signed Eric Gordon to a one-year deal.

21:41I didn't even know he was still in the league.

21:42I thought he retired years ago.

21:45We gave him some money.

21:47We gave him some money.

21:48That's wild.

21:51Lowry, we gave him some money.

21:53We gave him some money.

21:55Yeah, yeah.

21:56I thought, I thought he went back to Toronto.

21:58I thought he was already, I thought they already retired his jersey.

22:01And he's on our bench.

22:03I did.

22:04I really, I was like, there's no way he plays for us.

22:07Like, oh, he's still here.

22:09He's still here.

22:10Getting a check.

22:11Okay, cool.

22:12I'm not mad at it.

22:13But that's probably why we can't develop young talent.

22:16Because, you know, our depth chart is old injured starters.

22:22And then old veteran minimum contracts of old people.

22:26Yeah, it makes sense.

22:27It's fine.

22:28He, and also, I don't really understand, like, PG has always been, like, a number, he's always been Andrew Wiggins to me.

22:46He, he's been, he's been a number two, who, for some reason, we talked ourselves into, like, he's a number one.

22:56And you're like, he's not, but he should be.

23:00And because of that, he's a number one.

23:02And you know what?

23:03We're going to act like he's a number one.

23:05And he's never been a number one.

23:07Ever.

23:08Well, Indiana.

23:09I thought that was, so, this hot take, I thought that was Danny Granger's team until he got injured.

23:19And then it became Paul George's.

23:21And the young buck just kind of ran with it.

23:23I love that for him.

23:25But that's not, you're right.

23:29You're right.

23:30But I just, like, sure, you can say Indiana.

23:34But I think he was just a young dog.

23:36And he just, he's like, I got an opportunity.

23:38And I took it and ran.

23:39But I've never seen him, like, number one in Indiana is, like, a B- on another team.

23:45You know what I mean?

23:45Like, it's Indiana.

23:47So, Halliburton?

23:49He'll be a B- on another team.

23:52Now, okay.

23:53So, the Pacers are in an interesting place.

23:58The Pacers have pretty much thrived in mediocrity.

24:02And, in my opinion, what they have done with the collection of players they now have,

24:07they have raised their floor while, in my opinion, simultaneously having a relatively low ceiling.

24:17Even though they went as far as they did last year, I felt that they, second round, like, if the Cavs are healthy, the Cavs, like, and I, I have no problem.

24:26Like, yeah, that's, yeah.

24:29If, if they're playing healthy teams, I don't think they get this far.

24:32So.

24:33New York?

24:35Um.

24:36So, I don't think they should have gotten past the Celtics.

24:40So, I didn't feel like New York was good because they don't have depth and they've never had depth.

24:44And they have a coach that decides to legitimately run the car to, like, the rims.

24:51And I was like, oh, yeah, they're, they're not, they're going to get burnt out.

24:53First, second round, it's, yeah.

24:55Thanks.

24:56I mean, I won't disagree.

24:58I guess you could say that I am very well versed in how Tom Thibodeau runs his basketball teams based on his times in Chicago.

25:05Um.

25:07But I was just curious to see, um, you know, how those hot takes went before we went really deep into this water hole.

25:13You know, I think.

25:14Oh, I see.

25:15I see.

25:16You know.

25:16Back to the way I say it like this.

25:20I think this season will be very telling for a lot of things.

25:23It'll be telling for the Pacers on how they're going to recover or sustain without Halliburton.

25:28It's going to be interesting how the Celtics are going to sustain.

25:30It's going to be very interesting on what happens with LeBron and the Lakers.

25:35If Kawhi Leonard is even going to be a clipper to open up the season.

25:38I know, well, no, no ring for Kevin Durant this year.

25:41But, um, it's okay.

25:43You know.

25:44I tell everybody.

25:45Yeah, I'm never.

25:46You know what?

25:47I'm going to keep my hot takes about Kevin Durant to myself until our next segment.

25:52That's all I'm going to say.

25:53So, I will, uh, I will, I will round up our curtain call before I get too carried away.

25:57All right.

25:58So, basically, the, the, the conclusion that we have come upon is we have a hundred push-up bet going on.

26:05My boy Ramsey says two years left of LeBron and he's retiring.

26:10I'm saying over two years.

26:11I'm taking the over.

26:12He's taking the under.

26:14I don't see how I don't have this in the bag.

26:16But if I'm being honest, Polly, whatever, the betting site probably has me like at 99% taking this.

26:21Like, so, if I was you, I would bet on the underdogs.

26:25It's obviously not me.

26:25I'm going to get that out there.

26:26But we, okay, you say that, but we'll see.

26:29And, but we greatly appreciate y'all stopping back just listening to this episode because we just had some, you know, rabbit holes to kind of jump into.

26:36But if you are new to the channel, new to the pod, make sure you hit the subscribe button, notification bell to be notified every time we post a video.

26:41And leave a comment in the comment section down below of anything you want us to talk about next because we're open to ideas.

26:46And we'll see you in the next one.

26:46Peace.

26:47Peace.

26:48Peace.

26:49Peace.

26:50Peace.

26:51Peace.

26:52Peace.

26:53Peace.

26:54Peace.

26:55Peace.