After the Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in Western Conference Finals, much has been said about the future of one of the greatest players in the NBA. At the age of 38, is LeBron James retiring? Will he come back for another season at 39? Can he still be what he used to be?
The Athletic’s Shams Charania had his opinions about this topic. On an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Charania said that he personally believes LeBron is coming back, even though he will be 39. “This is the first time LeBron James has even approached the topic of retirement,” he said. “Do I expect LeBron James to retire? I don’t!”
LeBron James has had a great season this year. He managed to help the Lakers to come from a 2-10 at the beginning of the season all the way to the Western Conference Finals. And while doing that, he broke the NBA's all-time top-scorer record and had the most points in an NBA season by a 38-year-old player.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham also spoke about this possibility. “LeBron has earned the right to do whatever he wants to do, make whatever choice,” Ham said.
Meanwhile, Pelinka told reporters that “LeBron has given as much to the game of basketball as anyone who's ever played. When you do that, you earn the right to decide if you want to give more. Obviously, our hope would be that his career continues.”
Injury
Besides all those amazing stats, LeBron finished the season playing through a partially torn tendon on his foot. Shams Charania also reported that he could undergo surgery to fix the problem and could miss two months during the offseason just to recover from the surgery. This could also be a factor when thinking about retirement.
