LeBron James only needs one 40th birthday present from the Lakers: A chance to win his fifth ring

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

On LeBron James‘ 40th birthday, there’s really just one question left to ask.

Will he win his fifth title before he retires?

He has accomplished everything else. He won four championships with three different franchises. He declared himself the greatest player of all time after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the 2016 Finals. He led the Los Angeles Lakers to their first championship in 10 years in “The Bubble” in Orlando in 2020, which, depending on whom you ask, was either the hardest title to win in NBA history or should come with an asterisk.

He led the Miami Heat and the Cavaliers to the Finals eight years in a row. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer. He became the first player to play alongside his son, Bronny, whom the Lakers drafted with the 55th pick last summer. He has played the most minutes, ever. He’s playing at an unprecedented level for someone in his 22nd season.

James has long said he will play as long as both his mind and body are up to the task.

Well, it’s clear his body is holding up its end of the bargain. He has had eight triple-doubles this season, and he’s averaging 23.5 points on 49.6 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 from beyond the arc, nine assists and 7.9 rebounds a game. Only one other player has played 22 seasons, Vince Carter, and he averaged five points, 0.8 assists and 2.1 rebounds.

But what about James’ mind?

We got a temperature check of sorts at Monday’s practice.

James told reporters when he first entered the league, he never expected to play until he was 40. “Of course not,” he quipped.

He called playing “extremely fun still.” He made it clear he plans to end his career with the Lakers and called them “a very good team,” but added, “Can we win a championship right now? No, I don’t think so.”

When asked if the Lakers were able to win, if he’d be inspired to stick around longer, he said, “I don’t know. Possibly.” He added that he believes he could play at this level for another “five to seven years,” but added, “I’m not going to do that.”

James was clearly in a good mood.

Why wouldn’t he be? Anthony Davis was going to gift him some good “vino.” And the Lakers even gave him an early present — a chance at inching closer to winning another title.

The Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. Finney-Smith is a 3-and-D specialist who will help space the floor for James and Davis. It’s an upgrade, especially in light of Russell’s inconsistent play and questions surrounding his maturity the past 2 1/2 seasons.

But the move surely doesn’t scream that the Lakers are now contenders.

What’s really important here is what they’re going to do with their three tradable first-round picks. Will Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka put everything on the line to get the team a star before James’ mind wanders? In other words, will Pelinka potentially gamble with the future to win now, while arguably the greatest player of all-time remains on his roster?

James’ outlook isn’t always as rosy as it was on his birthday.

In the locker room after games, James often jokes about how tired he feels. And he has clearly expressed his frustration with the Lakers falling short the past four seasons.

When the Lakers were struggling in February 2023, he told FOX Sports: “I still feel like I’ve got plenty of gas in this tank to help any franchise win a championship.” The word “any” raised eyebrows for obvious reasons, and was seemingly another one of his nudges at Lakers’ brass to upgrade the roster … or else. They responded, trading Russell Westbrook and adding six players en route to reaching the Western Conference Finals. But after they were swept by the Denver Nuggets, James hinted at retirement.

We all knew James was going to hang around until Bronny made the NBA. The superstar had long made it clear that was his dream. And after Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest and was fighting for his life in the ICU in July 2023, Bronny’s remarkable comeback made the father-son pairing that we’re now witnessing even more powerful and moving.

But now that James has accomplished that, the writing on the wall is clear: If the Lakers aren’t competitive this year, don’t count on James’ mind being in this for much longer.

James recently emphasized that he’s not “playing until the wheels fall off,” adding he’s not sure whether he has one or two years left.

It’s clear that this Lakers team could be good. James is still James. Anthony Davis opened this season playing MVP-caliber basketball. The team’s supporting cast has shined at times, especially Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht. The Lakers are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference with a record of 18-13. With the right tweaks, the Lakers could be great.

The Lakers better make those moves fast. After standing pat at the trade deadline last year, the sand is now flying through the hourglass representing the longevity of James’ career.

When he calls it quits, it is really going to be when this is no longer fun for him.

His power and finesse haven’t waned. It’s remarkable when you think about it. Just look at Team USA’s gold medal-winning run at the Olympic Games in Paris last summer. Of the greatest basketball players in the world, the then-39-year-old James was named MVP. He was the best player on the court on the most consistent basis.

It has long been a narrative that James defies Father Time.

He has even riffed off that theme while starring in commercials for Nike. James often pokes fun at himself for his beard turning gray. During the Olympics, the younger generation of players, including Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, would even call him “grandpa.” And entering this season, when asked how he felt about being the oldest player in the league again, he put his hands on his face and screamed.

James is still having fun with it all. He’s embracing the jokes around his age. He loves watching his son play professionally. He’s still laughing at his naysayers, most recently emphatically quieting an overreaction from pundits who questioned whether he should call it quits after he missed 20 3-pointers in a row by going on to have a triple-double against Detroit (28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists) followed by a dazzling 31-point performance against Golden State in a nationally televised win on Christmas.

James is James-ing.

We can only wonder how much longer he’ll want to play that role.

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He has overcome unimaginable pressure after being labeled “The Chosen One” at age 18 by Sports Illustrated. He has lamented having to miss so many of his family’s milestones over the years. Every day, he devotes hours to keeping his body calibrated. He still has to deal with detractors. He even took a break from social media earlier this season. The mental load of all of this all is tremendous.

And in return, he needs a chance to win.

To really win.

Now, it’s up to the Lakers to see if they’re really going to make his 40th year special – or else they better prepare for his mind to wander.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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