Source: AAron Ontiveroz / Getty
After last night’s loss to the
Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, James was
speaking to the media, and like most people fresh off a sweep, he appeared defeated.
Following his 40-point performance, he ominously told reporters, “Going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.”
No one knew what the vague statement meant, but King James later clarified that he was indeed talking about the r-word: retirement.
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“When you say you got to think about stuff, what thread should we be pulling on that?” a reporter asked, and he responded, “If I want to continue to play,” concerning the 2023-24 season.
When further pressed about if he’d really walk away, James said, “I got to think about it.”
While James is rightfully upset that his Lakers couldn’t muster up one win against the Denver Nuggets, it’s impressive how far the team went this season. The Lakers were the seventh seed via play-in this season and beat the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and the defending Champions
Golden State Warriors. So while the season wasn’t a complete wash, James wonders what’s next as the 38-year-old finishes his 20th season.
James did play in all 17 of the Lakers playoff games, but he was doing it on an injured foot, and while he may get surgery during the off-season, he said it wasn’t bad enough to keep him off the floor.
“I’m going to get an MRI on it and see how the tendon either healed or not healed and go from there. We’ll see what happens,” he told ESPN. “I knew I could get to the finish line. Obviously, I knew I had to deal with it and deal with the pain or deal with not being able to be myself before the injury, but there was nothing that made me feel like I couldn’t get to the finish line.”
The future Hall of Famer has one more year on his contract worth almost $50 million and a player option afterward. Plus, he’s still got dreams of playing with his son
Bronny James, so there’s no telling if he’s really going to call it quits.
See how Twitter’s reacting to James pondering retirement below.
