The King could potentially vacate his throne earlier than many expected.
Shortly after James cryptically said he has “a lot to think about” this offseason after the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Nuggets, Bleacher Report and ESPN added some clarity behind James’ surprising statements.
Sources told BR’s Chris Haynes that James has “a lot to weigh” and will “take his time in deciding if he’ll return for Year 21.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said a source close to James explained that the Lakers star felt the effects of the travel and physicality in the first round against Memphis — and then the second round against Golden State “brought back old demons” of the previous Finals matchups they had when James was in Cleveland.
James expanded on his press conference comments in a separate interview with ESPN after his 20th NBA season ended in a 113-111 Game 4 loss to the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals on Monday.
James confirmed he was talking about “if I want to continue to play” next year.
“I got to think about it,” James replied when asked if he would walk away from the game all together.
It marked the first time that the 19-time All-Star has signaled being at a crossroads in his career.
“I don’t get a kick out of making a conference appearance,” James said in the press conference. “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.
“But we’ll see. We’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t know… I’ve got a lot to think about to be honest,” he said repeatedly.
“…Just for me personally, going forward, the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.”
James, who turns 39 in December, has one season left on his contract with the Lakers, worth $46.7 million for 2023-24 — and a player option for the following season worth $50.4 million.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James has said on multiple occasions that he hopes to play with his oldest son, Bronny James, in the NBA before hanging up his jersey for good.
In February he told ESPN the last thing left for him to accomplish after the scoring mark was: “I got to play with my boy.”
Bronny, a senior guard at Sierra Canyon, announced his commitment to play at USC earlier this month.
James recorded a double-double, scoring 31 points on 11-for-13 shooting in the first half of Monday’s season-ending loss — his 282nd playoff game of his career.
He finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, playing all but four seconds of the contest.
James’ last-second floater attempt to try and force overtime was blocked by Nuggets guard Jamal Murray at the buzzer.
James had been playing through a right foot injury he sustained against the Mavericks on Feb. 26, when he said he heard a pop after landing awkwardly on a missed layup attempt.
The injury caused him to miss a month straight late in the regular season due to a torn tendon.
James, who played in all 17 of the Lakers’ postseason games, said he will undergo medical testing to determine the severity of the injury.
“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 when asked if surgery could be an option this summer.
