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The topic of LeBron James retiring has continued to make headlines ever since the four-time NBA champ was eliminated from the postseason by the Denver Nuggets. Speaking to media members immediately after the loss, James admitted that he might need to think some things over before next season.
At 38 years old, many couldn't blame James, however, after coming off a season where he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record, it was hard to believe. Despite his comments, inside sources claimed shortly after that James wouldn't be retiring, and would return for another year with the LA Lakers.
With that being said, fans had anxiously been waiting for word from the future Hall of Famer himself on whether or not they should worry about LeBron James retiring. During this year's ESPY award, James touched on the subject, immediately putting his name right back in the headlines.
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While accepting the award for Best Record-Breaking Performance last year, he reflected on his comments after being eliminated.
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"In that moment, I'm asking myself if I can still play without cheating the game," said James. "Can I give everything to the game still? Truth is, I've been asking myself this question at the end of the season for a couple years now. I just never openly talked about it."
James added:
"I don't care how many more points I score or what I can and cannot do on the floor. The real question for me is ‘can I play without cheating this game?’ The day I can't give everything on the floor is the day I'll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today."
Taking a look back at comments that fueled 'Is LeBron James retiring?' questions
During his ESPY acceptance speech, LeBron James stated that he wanted to speak for himself rather than letting experts and analysts pick apart his comments. Given that, let's take a look back at exactly what he said when the season ended to fuel all of the 'Is LeBron James retiring?' theories.
The comments came after the LA Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets, despite some pretty remarkable performances from James. After heading to the locker room, James appeared at the post-game press conference.
"We'll see what happens going forward," he said. "I don't know. I don't know. I've got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me, personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about."
The comments seemed to be pretty clear that whether or not he was serious, James was truly thinking about retiring - or so it seemed. As Charles Barkley stated in the wake of the comments, he knew James wasn't going anywhere, and knew that media members would run with his quotes.
From the sounds of things, Barkley's intuition was spot on, and the topic of LeBron James retiring isn't worth discussing just yet.
(Suggested Reading: Fans react to LeBron James ESPY announcement)
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