Following the Lakers’ season ending sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, superstar LeBron James told reporters he will consider retiring from the NBA and moving on from the game of basketball.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James elaborated on the statement that ended his press conference following the loss and whether or not surgery is needed for his injured foot.
“I’m going to get an MRI on it and see how the tendon either healed or not healed and go from there,” James told McMenamin. “We’ll see what happens.”
James injured his right foot in February and missed 13 games, but felt he could still play the remainder of the season and the playoffs.
“I knew I could get to the finish line. Obviously, I knew I had to deal with it and deal with the pain or deal with not being able to be myself before the injury,” James said. “But there was nothing that made me feel like I couldn’t get to the finish line.”
James added he believes he could return to the dominant player he has always been if he takes the offseason to rehab his foot. And when McMenamin asked him why, his answer was very matter-of-fact.
“Because I’m still better than 90% of the NBA,” he said. “Maybe 95.”
That sounds like a man that still has the fire of competition in him. Only James will be able to decide if it’s time to hang up his sneakers or if he still has something left in the tank for another run.
