{"id":186962,"date":"2025-10-03T07:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T07:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/186962\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T07:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T07:06:08","slug":"austin-reaves-uncovers-hidden-factor-influencing-lebron-james-decision-to-extend-legendary-nba-career-nba-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/186962\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Reaves uncovers hidden factor influencing LeBron James\u2019 decision to extend legendary NBA career | NBA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Reaves and LeBron James. Image via: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images LeBron James<\/a> is about to begin his 23rd season in the NBA, an unprecedented milestone that places him ahead of Vince Carter\u2019s 22 seasons. At 40 years old, James remains an All-Star caliber forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, defying the limits of longevity in professional basketball. While fans continue to speculate about why he is still playing, his Lakers teammate Austin Reaves has shed light on the true reason behind James\u2019 decision to extend his legendary career.<\/p>\n

Austin Reaves reveals the real reason why LeBron James is still playing basketball<\/p>\n

Speaking on The Old Man and the Three podcast, Austin Reaves gave a candid look into James\u2019 motivation to keep competing at the highest level. \u201cThe passion for the game, there\u2019s no there\u2019s literally no other reason for him to continue to play basketball,\u201d Reaves explained. \u201cLike in my opinion, he\u2019s the best player to ever touch a basketball. He probably could have retired six years ago, and people would still say the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Los Angeles Lakers Super Show | Austin Reaves, Flea, Russillo, and Jake LaRavia<\/p>\n

Reaves dismissed money as a factor, saying James\u2019 wealth has long since secured his future. Instead, he emphasized that James thrives on the grind. \u201cThe only reason he\u2019s still playing basketball is because he loves the grind. He loves the game. He wants to continue to get better. Even when you know you\u2019re at that level, there\u2019s still things that he thinks he can work on to become a better player. I think that\u2019s the most incredible thing about him.\u201dWith Bronny James now his teammate on the Lakers, LeBron has already made history as the first player to compete alongside his son. Yet James has hinted that his career is nearing its conclusion, noting that he does not plan to wait for his younger son, Bryce, to enter the league. He becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, fueling speculation that this could be his final season.<\/p>\n

Charles Barkley makes a LeBron James comparison to Kobe Bryant<\/p>\n

While Austin Reaves praised James\u2019 passion, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley offered a contrasting perspective on how James measures against Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Speaking at Rowan University, Barkley said, \u201cI love LeBron. I\u2019ll tell you, LeBron is a really, really nice man and a great player. The difference between Michael, Kobe, and LeBron is: Those two guys will kill your a**. That doesn\u2019t make one way right or wrong, Michael and Kobe, them dudes, they were dangerous. They\u2019re going to win obsessively. They don\u2019t care about you or your feelings.\u201dBarkley\u2019s comments highlight a long-running debate over James\u2019 competitive style, but they do not diminish his standing. As the Lakers prepare for another title chase with James, Luka Doncic, and Reaves leading the charge, LeBron is set to write more chapters in a career that may never be replicated.Also Read: LeBron James Injury Report: Los Angeles Lakers Star Receives Concerning Glute Injury Update Ahead of Preseason Opener Against Suns<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Austin Reaves and LeBron James. Image via: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images LeBron James is about to begin his 23rd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,30097,63,24057,13800,7896,7232,590,110169,85],"class_list":["post-186962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-austin-reaves","tag-australia","tag-charles-barkley","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-lebron-james","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba","tag-nba-career","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}