LeBron James is heading into the 23rd season of his career and now holds the record for the most seasons played in the NBA by a single player. While some sources are claiming that this could be the last season for LeBron James, betting website Bovada seems to believe that nine other players are more likely to retire before James.
According to Bovada, betting odds for the next player to retire in the NBA indicate that James is the tenth most likely to announce his retirement after this season.
Odds on the next NBA player to retire:
1. PJ Tucker +275
2. Al Horford +400
3. Nicolas Batum +400
4. Kevin Love +500
5. DeAndre Jordan +800
6. Kyle Lowry +950
7. Eric Gordon +1600
8. Jeff Green +2200
9. Mike Conley +2500
10. LeBron James +2800
11. Brook Lopez +10000
12. Russell Westbrook +10000
13. Kevin Durant +25000
PJ Tucker tops the list with the highest chances of retiring after this season. The 40-year-old veteran forward became a free agent this summer after the Knicks refused to pick up his $3.4 million team option.
Nearing the end of his career, Tucker has only played 34 games over the past two seasons, barely averaging 2.7 points per game in that time. Last season, he only played three games for the Knicks, despite signing a two-year deal with the team, which included the team option for 2025-26.
Nicolas Batum and Al Horford are the next two most likely players to retire, followed by LeBron James’ former teammate and close friend, Kevin Love.
The 36-year-old Batum is still important to the Clippers’ rotation following the recent signing of Beal, but he has seen his point production significantly fall since 2022 (2023: 6.1 points per game, 2024: 5.3 points per game, 2025: 4.0 points per game) and is hence among the betting favorites to retire next at his age. He has two years remaining on his deal, including a $5.8 million team option in 2026-27.
Al Horford, at age 39, is reportedly holding back on deciding between the Warriors and other potential destinations while mulling over retirement in free agency. He recently won his first NBA championship near the end of his career, and it seems like now would be the perfect time for him to retire if he feels he does not have it in him anymore.
Former NBA champion Kevin Love was teammates with James for multiple seasons before winning his only ring in 2016. At age 36, Love is entering the last season of his contract while playing for the Utah Jazz and is expected to earn $4.1 million this coming season.
The remaining five players are: DeAndre Jordan (36 years old), Kyle Lowry (39 years old), Eric Gordon (36 years old), Jeff Green (38 years old), and Mike Conley (37 years old). It is incredible to think that LeBron James, the oldest of them all, is not expected to retire before them.
James is entering the final season of his contract with the Lakers after he picked up his $52.6 million player option earlier this summer. He is still playing at an All-NBA level and was selected to the All-NBA second team last season. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds at this stage in his career, which is superhuman at this point.
While he is not expected to get any more offers from the Lakers, following what seems to be a drift away from the front office, James will still have a lot of demand in the league if he does not decide to retire after this season.
In this free agency itself, several teams indicated they would love to have him on their roster if the Lakers bought him out amid the rift rumors. Therefore, he may not expect similar money in comparison to what he is earning with the Lakers at the moment.
But if James decides he can still play for another championship, then teams may be interested in offering him enough to reconsider the retirement option. Therefore, it is understandable why James is not the betting favorite to retire after this season.
