LeBron James talks retirement, Michael Jordan, Doncic trade and more
LeBron opened up in an interview on ESPN that promoted the return of his podcast, now with Steve Nash.
admin
Mar 24, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
LeBron James is bringing back his "Mind the Game" podcast, but with two-time MVP Steve Nash filling in the place of J.J. Redick, who is now busy coaching LeBron and the Lakers.
To promote that, LeBron is doing some media stops, and one of them was a lengthy, in-person interview on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ on ESPN. If you missed it, here are a few highlights from the conversation.
• On when he might retire: "For me, it's about my mind. I'm all about the process. If it gets to the point where I don't feel like showing up to the arena five hours in advance. Or I don't feel like training. Or I don't feel like studying the scout sheet of guys. If it gets to that point, I'll know, 'You know what, Bron, that's a wrap.' I will be able to tell."
• On Luka Doncic trade: "I can't put myself in his shoes because I've never been traded before. But I can have a sense and be a human being to know: You commit to a franchise for seven years and you feel like, 'This is the place where I'm going to be.'… And then out of nowhere, bam, you just get traded. I don't give a damn where you're going… That's a shock to your system."
“Luka Doncic committed to a franchise for seven years and that was his comfort..
Out of nowhere you get traded and that’s a shock to your system..
I had to let him know that we’ll figure it out because we need him to be who he is” ~ @KingJames#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/kPEIag0MID— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 26, 2025
• On his relationship with Michael Jordan: "We don't talk. Because I'm still playing. I'm still playing, I'm still focused on my craft right now...
"I think it's because I'm still playing. And MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don't know him personally, he is one of the most ruthless competitors there is and until I'm done and he doesn't have to look at me running up and down wearing the No 23 and every time my name is mentioned, it's mentioned with his."
• On his son, Bronny James: "For me as a dad, it doesn't matter if he never scores, ever. For me as a dad, I'm just super proud of him, period, as a young man. For me as a mentor and as a teammate of his that wants to see him thrive because I have seen the work he's put into the game, I am super proud of his development to where he is now... starting off the G League season with just trying to figure it out and now, 39 [points] and even when I talked to him, he was more pissed off at the technical free throw that he missed more than anything. He was like, 'I could have had a 40 ball, and I missed that damn technical free throw.' So, the kid, he's awesome."
