Adam Silver thinks that he can see the vision when it comes to LeBron James.
The NBA commissioner Silver appeared this week on WFAN Sports Radio in New York and was asked about the Los Angeles Lakers star James and James’ future plans. During his remarks, Silver made a notable prediction — that James will continue to play beyond the 2025-26 season.
“He’s still playing at an incredibly high level,” said Silver of James. “It’s not like he’s just sort of out there. I haven’t talked to him since the season ended. [But] I have every indication he plans to keep playing next season.”
Here is the full clip of Silver’s remarks.
Adam Silver indicates that LeBron James is expected to return next season
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) April 18, 2026
“You know, I want LeBron to play as long as he actually wants to play. I mean, he’s not just a 41-year-old player in the league with the most points ever in so many different categories, but he’s still… pic.twitter.com/wsfHJ9TibI
James, who is now 41 years old and in his 23rd NBA season, is not currently under contract for next season. In fact, the talk in recent days has been that James supposedly does not want a retirement tour and might just call it quits after the 2025-26 season.
But working in James’ favor is that he still has his fastball (averaging 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game this season) and was able to transition into more of a secondary role for the Lakers before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got injured. Perhaps the greater question right now for the four-time champion James is which team he would play a potential 24th season with (having just been linked to an intriguing new team a couple of weeks ago).
