Image Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Charles Barkley Reveals the Reason he Wants LeBron James to Retire Sooner

Image Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Former NBA star Charles Barkley has revealed that he wants LeBron James to retire. The 1993 MVP appeared on “The Jim Rome Show”, where he revealed that he hopes James “retires sooner than later”. Notably, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is the only NBA player to play his 23rd season in the league. However, he is yet to make his season debut considering he has been dealing with a right sciatica injury, and is expected to undergo re-evaluation this week.

Barkley, a Hall of Famer, revealed the reason behind his strange desire and said that he hates to see great players struggle in their last seasons of the NBA career. “I hope he leaves sooner than later, ’cause I hate to see great players out there struggling,” he said about James. “I really struggled my last year, probably my last two years. It was very frustrating and humiliating for me. Obviously, LeBron is a better player than me, but I don’t want to see great players just hanging on.”

Charles Barkley would rather LeBron retire than watch LeBron deal with health concerns 👀

(via @jimrome) pic.twitter.com/fxdcxHqMsC
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 5, 2025

Despite being 40 years old, there are no signs of James slowing down. In the previous season, he was named second-team All-NBA and finished sixth in the MVP voting. The four-time champion averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in the last season. Ahead of this season, there were rumors about James’ retirement, but the 21-time All-Star put all speculations to rest by opting for a $52.6 million player option.

Even though his decision has delayed his retirement, we all know that he is nearing the end of his career and someday in the near future, James will hang his boots.

Charles Barkley Wishes LeBron James Takes Farewell Tour and Retires Gracefully

On the same show, Charles Barkley suggested LeBron James end his legendary career gracefully by taking a farewell tour. “I would love to see him have a farewell tour, then just walk away,” Barkley said. “Cause he’s one of the three greatest players I’ve ever seen after Michael and Kobe. But I don’t want to see him just hanging on just for the heck of it. But Father Time’s always going to win.”

Even though there is no stopping for James, his body has started to show wear and tear after 22 NBA seasons. James, in his career has logged nearly 70,000 minutes, including the playoffs, which is the most in the history of the league. However, it seems that the four-time NBA MVP wants to add another trophy to his cabinet before calling it quits.

As of now, James is sidelined with a sciatica injury, but as per the latest updates, his target return date is inching closer. According to Shams Charania, the Lakers’ management is still operating under the belief that he would make his seasonal debut in mid-November. As for the Lakers, they are 6-2 without James, led by the stellar performances of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Charles Barkley

LeBron James

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.