Austin Reaves' strong message to LeBron James amid heating retirement buzz

The Lakers’ defeat at the hands of OKC Thunder wrapped up LeBron James’s playoff series games, which could possibly be his last postseason.

The spotlight has overnight shifted to Lakers superstar James as his contract expired with the franchise, and everyone got one question: What would be James’s next move?

For context, James’ eight-year run with the LA Lakers has ended with the closing of the 2025-26 season, allowing him to become a free agent now.

Amid all this buzz surrounding LeBron James’ looming retirement, Lakers guard Austin Reaves has issued a surprise statement.

In an interview with ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, the latter claimed Raveas is open to playing with James in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on May 12, 2026.

McMenamin, while citing Austin Reaves commenting on LeBron James’s retirement speculations, wrote, “It’s been fun (playing with him). I hope I can continue to do that.”

The comment comes after Lakers’ knockout of the NBP playoff series by Thunder in Game 4 on Monday, May 11, 2026.

Raves’ recent remarks on James signal a possible return of James, if he doesn’t announce his retirement.

With that in context, Reaves does have a player option on the card for 2026-27 season.

But multiple reports claim he could decline the option and become a free agency player.

Keeping in mind Reaves’ latest comment, Lakers could onboard both LeBron James and Austin Reaves for the next season.

While James is still unsure about him, as he told McMenamin that “I don’t know what the future holds for me.”