LeBron James has questioned his competitive future after the Lakers were eliminated in the NBA playoffs of the Western Conference, beaten 4-0 by Denver.
It was a reporter from ESPN, the American sports media giant, who spread the news of a possible retirement of LBJ following a conversation with the player in a corridor of the Crypto.com Arena. Minutes earlier, James had been cryptic in the postgame press conference, answering a question about how he sees the upcoming season.
“We'll see what happens… I don't know. I do not know. I have a lot to think about actually. Personally, when it comes to basketball, I have a lot on my mind," he said. The disappointment naturally demoralized him after the heavy loss in the series against Denver, despite a fourth game in which he was heroic, with 31 of his 40 points in the first period alone. "I think it went well, although I don't like to say it was a successful year because I'm not playing for anything other than winning titles at this stage of my career," he said. «I don't just enjoy making a Conference final. I've played it many times. And it's not fun for me not to be able to make a championship final," he added. "LBJ" still has two years left on his contract with the Lakers, the last of which is optional.
However, he has always proclaimed his desire to continue playing until at least 40 years old, to be able to play with or against his eldest son Bronny.