LeBron James doesn't 'know what the future holds' after Lakers eliminated
· Yahoo Sports
LOS ANGELES — Finality for came for the Los Angeles Lakers with a season-ending loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Then in the air hung the possibility of a much bigger ending.
Potentially the end of LeBron James’ tenure with the Lakers, if not the end of his illustrious NBA career.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me obviously as it stands right now,’’ James said after the Lakers lost to the Thunder, 115-110, on Monday, May 11 in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals and got swept in the series.
“It’s obviously still fresh with us losing. I don’t know," James said after the game when asked about his future. "I don’t know what the future holds for me, as it stands right now tonight. I think I said last year after we lost to Minnesota that I’ll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk to them, spend some time with them. And when the time comes, obviously, you guys will know what I decide to do.”
If it was the end for the 41-year-old James, he went out in inspired fashion. He had 24 points and 12 rebounds and helped rally the Lakers, who fell behind by as much as 12 points in the second half.
But he also missed a short floater with 20 seconds left with the Lakers trailing 111-110.
It was touch of heartbreak during a celebrated career for James, who completed his eighth season with the Lakers and his 23rd season overall.
James, when asked if he still loves basketball, said, "The love of the game is always there. I don’t think that every goes away."
More important, he said, is the process, which involves getting to the arena 5½ hours before the game.
"... the process for me has always been so much more important," James said. "For me, if I fell out of the love with the process, I’d probably fall out of love with the game."
He has won four NBA titles, the last coming with the Lakers in 2020. He also is the league’s all-time leading scorer.
His role became more limited as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves emerged as the team’s scoring leaders. But when Doncic and Reaves suffered injuries late in the season, it was James who led the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first-round playoff series.
JJ Redick, when asked about LeBron possibly ending his career, said, “I haven’t even thought about that yet. We’ll deal with that the offseason.’’
Reaves made it clear he hopes he’ll have a chance to play with James again.
“Man, it would mean the world to me,’’ Reaves said. “I don’t know anything different."
With eight seconds left, Reaves missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. After that miss, Reaves said James was walking behind him and said, “Helluva shot.’’
Luke Kennard, who joined the Lakers midseason, said of James, “He doesn’t take the game for granted. He loves basketball, he loves the process.’’
In fact, his love for basketball and that James continues to play at a high level has fueled speculation he’ll continue to play, whether it’s in Los Angeles or in another NBA city.
Doncic called Reaves and James “two great players’’ and said “it was really fun to share the court with them.
Will he help recruit James to return to the Lakers?
“We’ll see,’’ Doncic said. “I can’t tell you nothing.’’
With that, Doncic grinned.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James unsure about NBA future after Lakers ousted from playoffs