LeBron James considering retirement after Lakers exit in NBA playoffs: report
- The 38-year-old is reportedly thinking about ‘walking away’ after the Lakers’ defeat to Denver Nuggets brings curtain down on 20th season
- James fuels speculation about future in cryptic postgame press conference, saying he plans to take time to reflect on next stage of career
LeBron James is reportedly considering retirement from basketball after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
ESPN reported that the 38-year-old was thinking about “walking away” from the sport after the Lakers’ defeat brought the curtain down on his 20th season in the league.
Chris Haynes, a reporter for the TNT broadcaster, said in a separate tweet citing league sources that James’ retirement was “under consideration”.
James himself fuelled speculation about his future in a cryptic postgame press conference, saying that he planned to take time to reflect on the next stage of his career after the Lakers’ exit.
Asked for his reflections on the past season, in which he became the league’s all-time leading points scorer and took a rejuvenated Lakers to the brink of the NBA Finals, James said the campaign had been “challenging”.
“I don’t know. I think it was OK. 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,” said James, who delivered a vintage 40-point performance in the Lakers’ 113-111 loss on Monday.