LeBron James signed a 2 year extension worth $97 million that would keep him with the Los Angeles Lakers until the summer of 2025. Clearly, when signing this extension, ‘The King’ wanted to stay in the NBA for another two years. however, after getting swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, he made headlines while alluding to a potential retirement. This announcement has people speculating on whether or not he faked it to divert attention from the fact that his team lost 0-4.
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The Nuggets have been building this team from the ground up for over half a decade now with them being in the Playoff mix since the 2018 postseason. The chemistry this team has built up along with the ancillary pieces around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray being a perfect fit is exactly what has led up to this point.
Unfortunately, instead of giving Jokic and the Nuggets credit for a job well done, the noise surrounding the Western Conference Finals was all about one man: LeBron.
LeBron James gets accused of faking his retirement
LeBron James has been in the league for 20 years now. He knows what he needs to do to get people talking about any topic he wishes. While he seriously may be considering retirement, the fact that he made the announcement right after suffering one of the most embarrassing team losses in his career in the Playoffs is more than just a bit interesting.
A Western Conference executive has actually called out James for trying to change the narrative: “We’re not talking about the sweep.”
It is tough to talk about a ‘measly’ postseason series when perhaps the greatest player of all time blatantly claims that he could step away from the game of basketball forever. This didn’t stop the executive from giving his brutally honest thoughts on the situation, essentially accusing him of faking the retirement.
“LeBron will suit up next year. He just changed the conversation. Now, we’re not talking a sweep; we’re talking about LeBron and retirement. He loves to control the narrative. Give it a week. Let’s see if he’s saying the same thing,” said the executive to Bleacher Report.
Is LeBron planning on retiring just to come back a year later?
LeBron James has said on countless occasions that his one goal in his career going forward is to play with his eldest son, Bronny James, on NBA hardwood. Bronny is eligible for the Draft in 2024 and so if James really wants to bring his wishes to fruition, he would need to be in the league for the 2024-25 season.
Many have hypothesized that the 4x champion is simply doing this so he could get a year’s worth of rest and recuperate after having had a long and strenuous career only to come back for a year in the 2024-25 season. He would technically still be signed on due to his extension and this would allow him to play with his son while also getting the rest he needs and deserves.
