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There could also be factors other than winning that are pushing James to keep playing. He’s managed to play long enough to play alongside his oldest son Bronny, which was a longtime goal.
The end could be near for arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. Set to turn 40 in late December, LeBron James is clearly getting close to the end of his career. However, retirement speculation and pressure are starting to ramp up since the start of the season. It’s gotten to the point where it’s time to seriously consider whether this could be James’ final NBA season.
A recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder has become the catalyst for the retirement talk around James. In that game, James scored just 12 with the Lakers being outscored by 12 points while he was on the court. But it’s not just that one game that has fans and pundits thinking that James has finally lost a step. That loss to the Thunder was the fourth straight game in which James failed to score at least 20 points despite still averaging 22 points per game on the season. It was also the second straight game in which he failed to make a three-point shot.
After that game, former NBA player and current analyst Kendrick Perkins posted on social media: “It's looking like this just might be Bron's last season.” Fans quickly piled on after Perkins’ comment, adding their own two cents about James showing his age and no longer being the superstar and generational talent he’s been throughout this career.
This is about more than a few bad games. James and the Lakers are nowhere close to being the favorites to win the NBA title this season. They aren’t even one of the top contenders to make it out of the Western Conference. The odds of James being able to lead the Lakers to another championship look slim. That wouldn’t necessarily change if James were to find a new home next season, making it hard to envision James having a path to finishing his career with a championship and going out on top.
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Of course, James doesn’t necessarily see what his critics see when it comes to his retirement. Since the start of the season, he’s insisted that he’s not thinking about when he might hang up his sneakers. At the same time, James has admitted that he might only have one or two years left. He also said earlier this year that he has no intention of “playing until the wheels fall off.”
If James admits that he’s not going to allow his performance to dip too close to mediocrity, his play toward the end of November could potentially push him closer to deciding to walk away. On the other hand, James could just be in the midst of a slump and might be able to fight his way out of it. He’s already had multiple games with 30-plus points this season and remains among the NBA leaders in assists. Despite harsh words from Perkins and some fans, reports of James’ deterioration could be exaggerated.
There could also be factors other than winning that are pushing James to keep playing. He’s managed to play long enough to play alongside his oldest son Bronny, which was a longtime goal for James. He also has some level of interest in playing long enough for his other son Bryce, who is currently a high school senior, to reach the NBA so they can also play on the same team.
However, it may not be realistic for James to play long enough for Bryce to play his way onto an NBA roster. Even if his late-November swoon turns out to be just a slump, it’s becoming clear that the clock is ticking on how much longer James can continue to play at anywhere close to an elite level. By his own admission, there is only so far his level of play can drop before he calls it quits.
As far as James’ retirement is concerned, there are two big questions to be answered. The first is whether James will see eye to eye with pundits and fans regarding his decline. It’s likely that James will view his performance at this stage in his career more favorably than his critics. The other question is whether James will give advanced notice of his retirement and have a proper farewell tour. Unfortunately, those are two questions regarding James’ eventual retirement we don’t have answers to right now.
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