"I didn't give myself a timetable" - 40 YO LeBron James reflects on his NBA longevity & commitment to Lakers

As one of the few players his age still playing, LeBron James, the star of the LA Lakers, celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday. His ability to perform like an NBA player at 40 is evidence of his longevity in the league.

James spent the early part of his birthday at the Lakers' practice facility in preparation for their New Year's Eve game. They'll play his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. After the practice, he talked to the media about what it feels like to be 40.

Sportskeeda's Mark Medina asked James if he ever thought back then if he'd have a basketball career that would go for 22 seasons.

"No," James said. "Of course not. I didn't give myself a timetable how long I was gonna play the game. I just told myself I wanted to maximize the time that I have in the league and try to be as great as I could be, whenever my time has come. I would never been able to say at 18 when I was drafted that I'd still be playing in this league at 40.

Being able to play for 22 seasons is a significant accomplishment (shared by only Vince Carter). The Lakers star hasn't had time to consider his lengthy career, though.

"I don't know, 'cause I've not given myself an opportunity to look at it in retrospect," James said. "Kind of just living in the moment, being very grateful for the opportunity to play the game that I love this latter stage of my career.

"Still be able to commit to this franchise coming into my teammates and go out there and just play the game that I love. Still been very fun to go out there even at this point of my career."

At 40, James is still putting up All-Star numbers, averaging 23.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 9.0 assists.

---

NBA players and coaches greet LeBron James on his birthday

The entire league is in celebration as one of its best players, LeBron James, has entered the 40-year mark of his life. To commemorate James, ESPN collected video messages from players and coaches wishing the Lakers star a happy birthday.

In the video, his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammates Kevin Love and Kyle Korver congratulated and thanked James. Even former Sacramento King coach, Mike Brown, who used to coach the forward early in his career greeted him on his birthday.

Former player ang current Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr sent birthday wishes.