LeBron James says he could play at high level 5 to 7 more years — but won’t

Los Angeles Lakers’ veteran LeBron James said he can go on to play for another five to seven years despite turning 40 on Monday. James is playing his 22nd season in the NBA, which is the joint-most along with Hall of Famer Vince Carter.

James is still fit as a fiddle and more importantly, he is still delivering at the top level for the Lakers and the USA. 

“I had a decade of the 30s, so to just wake up and just be like, ‘Oh shoot, oh damn, you’re 40?'” James said, back with the team after missing Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings while recovering from an illness. “It’s kind of laughable, really, to know where I am, to see where I am still playing the game at a high level, still being such a young man but old in the scheme of how many years I got in this profession.”

James was the youngest player in league history to reach scoring milestones at 1,000 through 40,000 career points.

The veteran revealed he has been thinking about his retirement but he can go on to play longer if he wishes to.

“To be honest, if I really wanted to, I could probably play this game at a high level probably for about another — it’s weird that I might say this — but probably about another five to seven years, if I wanted to,” James said. “But I’m not going to do that.”

James is averaging 23.5 points on 49.6% shooting, 9.0 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 28 out of the Lakers’ 31 games in the ongoing season.

James also fulfilled his long dream of playing with his son, Broony James earlier in the season when they both played against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“You came in as an 18-year-old kid and now you’re sitting here as a 40-year-old, 22-year vet with a 20-year-old in the NBA, as well,” James said Monday. “So, it’s pretty cool.”

The Lakers will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.