A dejected LeBron James has suggested he could walk away from basketball after the Denver Nuggets completed a series sweep over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
The Nuggets were crowned Western Conference champions and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in their history despite trailing by 15 points at half-time, winning 113-111 in a thrilling Game 4.
James played the best game of his post-season with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and set a new career-high of 31 first-half points – but could not maintain it in the second as the Nuggets fought back.
The 38-year-old looked crestfallen afterwards and dropped a bombshell in his post-game press conference when he suggested he might not be playing for the Lakers when the 2023-24 season starts.
‘We’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about to be honest,’ said James.
‘Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.’
ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin had a further exchange with James afterwards in which the four-time MVP clarified that he was weighing up whether he would continue playing next year and when asked if he would walk away he simply replied: ‘I got to think about it.’
James still has two years left on his $97million (£78m) Lakers contract – though the final year is a player option – while he has never hidden his desire to play in the NBA alongside oldest son Bronny, who is likely to be in the 2024 Draft.
James’ comments were prompted by a question on how he evaluates the season – in which he broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record – on a personal level, to which he replied: ‘I don’t know. I love to play the game, I love to compete, I love to be out their for my guys, my team-mates.
‘I think it was special in the fact that we had a first year coach and a first year coaching staff, being able to take them to the Western Conference finals I think that was dope for coach [Darvin] Ham and his coaching staff going forward – that’s pretty amazing.
‘For me, it’s all about availability for me and keeping my mind sharp and things of that nature, being present on the floor, being present in the locker room, bus rides, plane rides and things of that nature.
‘But it’s challenging, it’s challenging for sure. It was a very challenging season for me, for our ball club, and obviously we know what went on early on and whatever the case may be.
‘It was a pretty cool ride. But I dunno. I dunno. I think it was okay. I don’t like to say it’s a successful year because I don’t play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career. I don’t get a kick out of making a Conference appearance – I’ve done it… a lot! And it’s not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the Finals.’
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