LeBron James Already Has Huge Plans for when His NBA Career Ends

LeBron James already has major plans in place for life after the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers star is preparing for his 23rd season in the league, with the new season set to begin in just over a month. Before then, the Lakers will play six pre-season games, starting against the Phoenix Suns on 3 October.

This summer, James activated the $52.6 million option in his contract to return for the Lakers this year, ending speculation that he would leave Los Angeles in the summer. But many fans believe that this will be his final season in the sport, as he edges closer to retirement.

Speaking to Speedy on the Complex YouTube channel, he was asked if he has any clear life goals beyond the court.

LeBron James playing for the LA Lakers. Image: David Berding / Contributor via Getty

James said: "I want to build the greatest storytelling company there is. And we've putting that work in uninterrupted. We've been doing it and you know we do all types of show and we do podcast now, we do movies and TV shows, everything, cartoons, but I want to build."

Speedy interjected: "Like Pixar?"

James instantly replied: "Yeah man, like when people want to come up with ideas. They think of us, they want to pitch it to us, you know what I'm saying.

"And that comes from that Fresh Prince of Bel-Air moment, that Will Smith, that Biggie Nas, that storytelling, that's the inspiration. And I want to build that not only for athletes, but also when you decide to do a show, you think uninterrupted.

"So whoever, whatever they want to create something, they think of us. I feel like Disney and all of those they've done enough."

LeBron James. Image: Ethan Miller / Staff via Getty

James already has business ventures away from basketball. In 2015, he signed a lifetime deal with Nike, which was the largest single-athlete guarantee in the company's history.

Since then, he has released a successful line of shoes, with the latest Nike LeBron 23 set to be released in the first week of October.

This off-season he also travelled to China for the 15th time with Nike, as part of his upcoming Forever King tour.

He travelled around the country hoping to grow basketball's global reach.

Now, his focus will return to the Lakers for the start of the new season.

Although they have some talented, players, the roster is viewed by many to be too inexperienced to mount a serious challenge for the Finals.

But for James he will get to spend another year playing alongside his son Bronny.