LeBron James Will Let You Know When He’s Going to Retire

LeBron James and the Lakers were eliminated from the postseason Monday night after being swept by the Thunder. While every team must face questions as they head into another offseason, the Lakers face the most historically significant fork in the road of any team in all of sports right now—will LeBron James retire?

Asked about his status going forward following the game he said, "I don’t know, it’s still fresh from losing. I don’t know what the future holds for me as it stands right now tonight. Like I said last year after we lost to Minnesota, I’ll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them, spend some time with them."

James has been in the NBA for a long time. His career has been around longer than the iPhone and every show in ESPN's morning block. He's played so long he had kids, watched them grow up and then even played professional basketball with one of them. He's playing against guys who weren't born when he was drafted.

LeBron is the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He's played more games than anyone else in the history of the sport and this year, at the age of 41, he averaged more points, rebounds and assists than a seemingly ancient Michael Jordan did in his final season when he turned 40.

It should not be a surprise if he decides to retire, and yet it sure feels like it would be. Throughout the season he has talked about it, admitting it was on his mind, but has never really sounded like he was leaning that direction.

LeBron’s unprecedented career makes it extremely difficult to guess his next move

James and the Lakers were completely outclassed by the Thunder, a team that has already won a championship and appears headed for an extended run that hasn't been seen since the Warriors—or maybe since when LeBron James took three different teams to a total of nine out of 10 NBA Finals and won four titles over that span. If Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City can go on a run like that, it will be dynastic.

But that's a long way away. So far in the future that James will almost certainly be retired. Right? That's what Chet Holmgren thought, but then he ended up guarding Lebron in the playoffs.

“When the time comes, you guys will know whatever I decide to do," James told reporters last night.

It seems unlikely he will tease the news, like he seemed to do last year when he was just selling Hennessy. The only thing we know for sure is that he will only play if he can play at the highest level. If he no longer has the lungs for the job, he won't be on the court.

This year he played 33.2 minutes a game. That's the same number of minutes 27-year old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played. More than 25-year old Jaden McDaniels averaged. More than 29-year old NBA ironman Mikal Bridges averaged.

The signs all indicate he still belongs on the court, but that doesn't mean he's not thinking about a time when he's not. In January he said might have played his final game in Cleveland, but then a few weeks later talked about how much he loves his job. One thing is for certain, he plans to celebrate his career and not mourn it.

“People tend to be sad, but it’s also a celebration of life. I think for me, when I’m done with this game, it’ll be a celebration of life and not of loss," said James in March. "It’ll be a celebration of everything I’ve been able to accomplish in this game, everything I’ve put into it. The moments, all the love.”

Whenever he does retire, James plans continue to create those moments with his family, who he will re-focus on rather than launch into a media career like so many of his long-retired peers. In February theLakers said they'd welcome him back next season. Coach JJ Redick called him a superhero.

Lebron has been around for a long, long time. He's been candid the entire time. So when he says he'll take some time and let us know, that's what he'll do. Unlike his career, the NBA offseason has an expiration date. Teams will start reporting to camp in September. It feels like he'll be there, but as usual, it's up to LeBron.

Two decades in and the league continues to revolve around him. And he continues to adapt, as he noted in his postgame press conference.

"I'm not looking at my year as a disappointment that's for damn sure," said James. "Especially... I was put into positions I never played in my career before. Actually in my life. I've never been a third option in my life. So to be able to thrive in that role for that period of time and then have to step back into the role that I've been accustomed with over my career, over my life, playing a sport and being able to thrive under that and my teammates allowing me to lead them under extreme circumstances. That was pretty cool for me at this stage in my career."

James is someone who has literally done everything in his career, and yet he's still finding new challenges and new roles that he was previously overqualified to play. Will that be enough to get him to come back for one or two more seasons he definitely doesn't need to play? He'll let us know when he's made his decision.

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