LeBron James once again waxed poetic on the prospect of his looming retirement.
The Los Angeles Lakers star spoke to reporters after his team lost to the New York Knicks 112-100 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y. One reporter asked James if he’d feel a certain way about not playing at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” again once he chooses to retire.
“At the end of the day, everything has to come to an end at some point,” James said. “So, no matter what it is, it’s going to be like, ‘S—, I’ll never play again in Madison Square Garden. I’ll never play again in certain arenas. I’ll never play again, period.’
“At that point, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to always miss it. You’re going to miss the game, in general. This one will always have a special place in the journey, because it is Madison Square Garden.”
“At the end of the day, everything has to come to an end at some point. So, no matter what it is, it's going to be like, ‘S—, I'll never play again in Madison Square Garden. I'll never play again in certain arenas. I’ll never play again, period’” – LeBron on his uncertain future pic.twitter.com/nvtrENdPE4
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 2, 2026
James looked like he still had more basketball left in him based on Sunday’s game. He scored 22 points on 9/15 shooting, along with 5 rebounds and 6 assists. While LeBron was a step slow on his defensive rotations, he had more than enough hops to throw down a powerful dunk to start the second half.
LEBRON WITH THE DUNK ON THE LOB 😱
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 2, 2026
YEAR 23‼️😤
(via @NBA)
pic.twitter.com/BiC72uR6Rm
James has neither confirmed nor denied that he plans to retire at season’s end. If the Lakers star does choose to continue playing next season, the Lakers and three other teams are reportedly interested in signing him to another deal.
Despite swimming into uncharted waters in his 23rd NBA season, James was still productive enough to earn his 22nd All-Star nod this week. Whether he deserved to make the team or not remains up for debate.
