LeBron James Teases NBA Retirement as Lakers Lose to Cavs in Emotional Return to Cleveland
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James admitted Wednesday that he may have played an NBA game in Cleveland for the final time.
Following the Lakers’ 129-99 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, James told reporters, “I’m just trying to take everything in, not take the moments for granted.Because it could be [my last season]. I obviously haven’t made a decision on the future, but it very well could be.”
While James has faced the Cavs many times as a visitor while with the Lakers and Miami Heat, Wednesday’s game felt different, as James was clearly emotional when the Cavaliers played a tribute video in honor of him:
Regarding his reaction to the video, LeBron said, “I think it just comes from just being present. I was just more present today than I’ve been [in past trips to Cleveland]. [It] definitely got to me a little bit, for sure.”
James admitted that he doesn’t know how much time he has left in his career, saying, “Obviously, the question gets asked more and the thought creeps in my mind more at 41 years old of when the end is and where’s the finish line for us to hang this thing up. But the drive is how much, like, juice I can squeeze out of this orange. … I’m in a battle with Father Time and I’m taking it personal, and I am going to see how many more times I [can] be victorious over him.”
The 41-year-old James is from Akron, Ohio, and he played the bulk of his NBA career with the Cavs, who are essentially his hometown team.
Lakers-Cavaliers Full Highlights
Cleveland selected James with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and he went on to spend his first seven seasons with the Cavs before signing with the Miami Heat in free agency.
After four seasons with the Heat, James re-signed with the Cavaliers and took them to four NBA Finals in four seasons. He also led them to their first and only championship in franchise history in 2016.
Friends and family, including LeBron’s mother Gloria James, were on hand to watch both LeBron and his son, Bronny James, play in the game.
LeBron discussed how much that meant to him, saying, “My mom gets to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time. I actually just started to think about how insane that is. Yeah, that’s awesome.”
Bronny added, “I was almost emotional myself.”
LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, which adds to the uncertainty of his NBA future.
While James could re-sign with the Lakers or even opt to play elsewhere next season, it is unclear if he wants to continue playing.
He missed significant time this season due to sciatica, and his per-game averages (22.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.9 rebounds) are lagging behind his usual level of production.
On Wednesday, James struggled to the tune of 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting with five assists and three rebounds in the loss.
It wasn’t an ideal way to end his time playing in Cleveland, but based on his reaction, it felt like Wednesday legitimately could have been the last game he ever plays in The Forest City.
