Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was eliminated from the 2023 NBA Playoffs after the Denver Nuggets swept his team in the Western Conference Finals.
This despite the fact that the 38-year-old averaged 27.8 points, 10.0 assists, 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in the series, shooting 51.9 percent from the field to boot.
Though James would get admirable contributions from Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Nuggets were simply a bigger team and took advantage of their size difference.
Ultimately though, there are few silver linings or moral victories for either LeBron or the Lakers at this stage, and the former's frustrations were overflowing following Game 4's final buzzer.
Which led to the curious comments by James, who not only alluded to retiring the offseason but outright acknowledged the possibility. It's not the first time that LeBron would comment on the end of his career, but it's the first time the 19-time All-Star has addressed retirement as an impending decision.
Unsurprisingly, the airwaves and interwebs are focused on the idea of LeBron retiring after two decades of dominance.
That said, there are those close to him that want people to exercise caution when assessing James' words, believing them to be those of a man that's simply tired and frustrated after a grueling postseason.
According to them, “he’ll go through the process,” per Sportsnaut's Mark Medina.
“Mentally, you got to get yourself in a space after coming off a tough loss. Give him a couple of days and give him space.”
Still, LeBron doesn't have anything to accomplish, outside of continuing to chase the ghost of Michael Jordan (in the eyes of some). Which matters quite a bit.
“What else is there for him to do? What’s really going to be his motivation?”
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