All-Star LeBron James says he still doesn't know whether his 23rd NBA season will be his last

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — LeBron James still hasn't decided whether his unprecedented 23rd NBA season will be his last.

''When I know, you guys will know,'' James told reporters Sunday after arriving at Intuit Dome to play in his 21st All-Star Game. ''I don't know. I have no idea. I just want to live. That's all.''

The 41-year-old James again confirmed he is not on a farewell tour this season with the Los Angeles Lakers, even though he teared up during a tribute to his career in Cleveland last month. He has also spoken repeatedly about the importance of savoring moments of the season with his teammates, including his 21-year-old son, Bronny.

And while he deftly parried this All-Star Game round of questions about his future with the same basic answer he has given for months, James expressed gratitude for another chance to make memories with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant on the All-Star stage. The veteran superstars were slated to play together on the ''Stripes'' team of American All-Stars before Curry's knee injury sidelined him, but Curry is still attending the game.

''It's always an honor to see those guys,'' James said. ''We've had such an unbelievable journey throughout our individual careers and then intersecting at certain points in our careers — matchups in the regular season, Finals appearances, postseason appearances, then Olympics two summers ago. When it comes to me, Steph and KD, we'll be interlocked for the rest of our careers, for sure.''

As to the length of that career, James repeated his regular declarations that he hasn't made a decision and he is focused on the final 28 games of the regular season with the Lakers, who are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite major injury problems. James could be a free agent this summer, but he claims he's not thinking beyond the tasks before the Lakers.

''It has nothing to do with that,'' James said. ''Same motivation, same mind factor. We've got past the marathon, and now the sprint is about to start.''

''There's a lot of things that I have on the table that I could tap into if I want to, (ownership) being one of them,'' James said. ''There's other ventures as well that I'll continue to explore, and then see what will engage me and motivate me post-career. Right now, I'm still locked in on what's going in right now with our season, and that's where my mind is.''

James spoke to reporters before Sunday's game because the league has allowed him to skip All-Star Saturday activities in recent years. James said Thursday that he planned to spend his extra time off at home recovering from a season in which he has already missed 18 games due to various health concerns, including sciatica that sidelined him for the Lakers' first 14 games.

Yet he still headed into this break Thursday by becoming the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.

The four-time NBA champion with the longest career in league history is still performing at an All-Star level alongside fellow All-Star Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, yet the Lakers' dynamic trio has played only 10 games together this season because of injuries to all three players.

''It's too hard to really say what we're capable of,'' James said. ''I know that when we've played some of our best basketball of the season, we've looked very good. On the other side, when we've been terrible, we've looked disgusting. So, I think the most important (thing) is if we can get healthy, how many minutes we can be on the floor, how much chemistry we can build with this sprint starting.''

More than two decades after he started for the Eastern Conference in his All-Star debut, he returns to play in a game that has been transformed into a round-robin tournament between two teams of American players and a powerhouse team representing the rest of the world.

Like Kawhi Leonard and several other All-Stars, James prefers the classics.

''East-West is definitely a tradition,'' James said. ''It's been really good. Obviously, I like the East and West format. They're trying something. We'll see what happens. I mean, it's like the U.S. versus the World? The World is gigantic over the U.S. I'm just trying to figure out how that makes sense.''

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