LeBron James‘ former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, Iman Shumpert, predicted the Los Angeles Lakers superstar will retire in three years.
“I’d say three,” Shumpert told RG.org. “I’ll say this – he’s capable of three. I want to say after Year 2 with his son [Bronny James], I want to say he put it down. If he gives us one more after that, cool. I think he’s going to let Bronny get through Year 1 and 2 and then it’s like, ‘Yeah, he’s got it.’ If Bronny comes out here and just kills in his first year and just goes crazy? I think ‘Bron would put it down after this year.”
But based on Bronny’s play in the NBA Summer League and preseason, he’s so far away from becoming an NBA star, let alone a rotation player.
LeBron James will turn 40 this season. He would retire at 43 if Shumpert’s prediction holds.
Only four players in NBA history have played 43 and over, per NBA.com:
- Nat Hickey: 45 years, 363 days (Jan. 28, 1948, Providence at New York)
- Kevin Willis: 44 years, 224 days (April 18, 2007, Dallas at Seattle)
- Robert Parish: 43 years, 232 days (April 19, 1997, Chicago vs. New York)
- Vince Carter: 43 years, 45 days (March 11, 2020, Atlanta vs. New York)
Shumpert played with LeBron James in Cleveland from 2015 to 2018. The arrival of Shumpert and JR Smith in a three-team trade with the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder gave James and the Cavaliers the depth they needed to win the franchise’s first-ever NBA title in 2016.
Iman Shumpert Says Lakers Were ‘Smart’ to Draft Bronny James
Despite Bronny James’ lackluster showing thus far, Shumpert still praised the Lakers for selecting him in the second round of the NBA draft.
“It’s smart,” Shumpert told RG.org of the Lakers’ decision to draft Bronny. “The boy can play basketball. He can play with his weapons. There’s a lot of people — you can put five guys on paper — but it’s not going to look good in the game. You put five guys on paper — we do it all the time — when they stack up, they trade, they do all that and then they get blown out by 30 in the first round. We don’t have time for that. Bronny is not that type of player.”
Through two preseason games, Bronny James is averaging 1.0 points on an abysmal 14.3% shooting and 2.5 turnovers in 14.7 minutes. Bronny James, however, showed upside on the defensive end. He had three blocks, the most by any guard in a preseason game since Dwyane Wade in 2003, in the Lakers’ 124-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 4.
LeBron James Cherishes Historic Moment with Bronny James
It was like a scene taken out of a movie when LeBron and Bronny James shared the court together for four minutes and 9 seconds in the Lakers’ second preseason outing against the Phoenix Suns.
“I’m prepping for the game like it’s regular game,” LeBron James told reporters after the game. “But the moment when we came out of the timeout and he was picking up full court and I went up — because my guy was taking the ball out. We stood next to each other and I kind of looked at him, and it was just like, ‘Is this “The Matrix” or something?’ It just didn’t feel real.”
LeBron was referring to the iconic Keannu Reaves’ 1999 sci-fi movie.
While the historic moment — the first father-and-son duo to play in the NBA — is a testament to LeBron James’ longevity as a professional athlete, it meant more than that to him personally.
“For a father, it means everything,” LeBron James said. “For someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son. Be able to have moments with your son. And ultimately, to be able to work with your son. I think that’s one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for.”
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Former Cavaliers Teammate Makes Bold LeBron James Prediction