LeBron James' shocking and unexpected comments about his NBA future

LeBron James is beginning to acknowledge that the end of the his NBA career is not that far off.

Even in his 21st NBA season, LeBron James continues to post insane numbers. He may not be the best player in the NBA but he's still one of the bigger difference-makers on both ends of the floor. During his age-39 season, LeBron is averaging 25 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds on 53 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range.

LeBron has been a huge part of why the Los Angeles Lakers even find themselves in a position to make a run in the playoffs. They're likely going to have to win their way into the final playoff field via the Play-In Tournament field, but as long as LeBron is healthy, this is a team that is going to have a shot to make an unexpected run in the playoffs.

Looking back to last season, the Lakers entered the playoffs as the 7th seed and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Not to say that they're going to have a similar run in this year's postseason, but with LeBron anything is possible. That's how special of a player he's been throughout his career.

The fact that LeBron's career is nearing an end and, perhaps most surprising, that he's even coming to the point of admitting that is pretty depressing. Especially if you've grown up watching LeBron's career play out before your eyes.

The fact that LeBron is admitting that he's in the final few years of his career is not something I thought I'd hear from him this season. But he's quickly coming to the reality that every NBA player before him has been subjected to - Father Time is undefeated.

Previous generations had Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan. We had LeBron. No matter what you think of him, LeBron is, at worst, the second-greatest player to ever dribble a basketball. When he does retire, it will be a sad day.

The bright side is that even though LeBron is beginning to admit that the end of his career is near, he likely still has a handful of years remaining before that happens. Especially with how great he's still playing.

But, even as the Lakers approach another playoff run, it's hard not to think that LeBron is nearing the end of his career. If he's going to add another championship to his already storied resume, it's going to have to come soon, likely in the next 1-3 years. Because of that, it's easy to see how much could be at stake for the Lakers this offseason.