Lebron James said he’s considering retirement after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs during Monday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
The 38-year-old dropped 40 points in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, but the team fell short with a 113-111 loss to the Nuggets.
ESPN reported that James spoke with reporters after the game and shared his thoughts on the 4-0 sweep and his career moving forward.
“Going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about,” James said at a post-game news conference, per ESPN.
After the news conference, an ESPN reporter asked him to elaborate on his comment about his NBA career. James replied, “If I want to continue to play,” insinuating that him suiting up in a Lakers jersey next season is not certain.
The Ohio native wrapped up his 20th season in the NBA and said his right foot injury was a factor in his postseason performance. James said he knew he had to play through the pain and didn’t doubt his ability to make it through the series.
“I knew I could get to the finish line,” James told ESPN. “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.”
James also said he plans to undergo an MRI over the summer to determine if he needs surgery.
“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 said.
An insider close to James told ESPN that the postseason was mentally and physically draining for the four-time NBA champion. According to the source, James faced various difficulties in the rounds against the Memphis Grizzles, Golden State Warriors and the Nuggets.
The Lakers are also facing salary cap issues, with no major sign of being able to greatly improve the roster next season, TMZ reported.