LOS ANGELES — As LeBron James took his seat at the press conference podium on Monday night after the Lakers crashed out of the playoffs in a second-round sweep against the Oklahoma City Thunder, most questions were focused on the obvious: retirement.
James says he remains uncertain about what the future holds, whether that’s calling it a career or returning for a 24th NBA season with or without the Lakers. James is an unrestricted free agent if he decides to continue his Hall-of-Fame career.
“I don’t know, obviously,” James said after the Lakers lost, 115-110, in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena. “We’re still fresh from losing. I don’t know what the future holds for me. As it stands right now tonight … I’ll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk to them, spend some time with them, and when the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do.”
James said the decision-making process starts with deciding whether he is still in love with the process of playing: showing up to the arena 5½ hours ahead of time to prepare for a game, diving across the court for loose balls, arriving at 8 a.m. to prepare for an 11 a.m. practice, and other aspects related to the day-to-day trials of being a professional basketball player.
James, who completed his eighth season with the Lakers on Monday night, said if he doesn’t put his full effort into the “process,” then he would be “cheating” the game. The outcomes, such as championships or victories, James said, are secondary.
“I’ve always been in love with the process and not the aftermath of, okay, we won that game, or we won a championship,” James said. “And then also, I’ll have a conversation with my 12-year-old daughter, that’s a big factor. And my 19-year-old son is entering his second year at Arizona. And my wife as well. They’re a huge factor in any decision I’ve made, so they’ll be a big part of it as well.”
James continued: “But the process for me has always been so much more important because for me, personally, if I fell out of love with the process, then I probably fell out of love with the game.”
Bronny James, the 21-year-old reserve guard who just wrapped up his second season with the Lakers while playing with his father, said he has no clue what LeBron James might decide to do. But he did add that his dad certainly still looks the part of being able to put in the work for another NBA season.
“I have no clue,” Bronny James said. “I’m not going to lie to you. He looks like he can play another however many years, but he’s been in the league for longer than he’s been out of league. It’s insane. I think he should think about it, and whatever he feels happy with, do that.”
How James played with the most recent edition of the Lakers was far different than any season of his career before it.
James averaged a career-low 20.9 points per game this season and embraced new roles – even becoming the third-leading scorer on the team when they played their best basketball of the season during a 16-2 run through March – before leading a short-handed squad into the second round of the playoffs when league-leading scorer Luka Doncic was sidelined by a season-ending hamstring strain. James called the ability to shift between different roles during the season a “pretty cool” moment for him at this stage of his career, adding that he’s “never been a third option” in his life.
As James said during his exit interview press conference after he scored 24 points in the Game 4 defeat, he’s got nothing left to prove in the NBA. The four-time league MVP has pretty much done it all – winning four championships with three different franchises while rewriting the record book. The league’ all-time leading scorer (who sits fourth on the career assists list), he recently added the career records for games played and total field goals.
There’s not much else for James to accomplish.
“There’s nothing I need to show in this league as far as, OK, I wanna show people I can do this or show myself I can do this,” James said. “I’ve done it all. I’ve seen it all. Just being able to compete and trying to win championships, I think that’s a motivating factor.”
But his love of, and for, basketball remains the same.
“The love of the game is always, it’s always there,” James said. “I don’t think that ever goes away.”