Was this the last dance for King James?

Legendary basketball champion LeBron James is contemplating retirement after 20 seasons in the NBA. Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ elimination from the Western Conference Finals at the hands of the Denver Nuggets Monday night, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer stated that he has “a lot to think about” regarding his future on the court.

James, 38, mentioned, “I don’t play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career, and I don’t get a kick out of making a conference appearance. I’ve done it a lot. And it’s not fun to me to not be able to be a part of and, you know, get to the Finals. So, we’ll see. We’ll see what happens going forward, but I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. And just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.”

According to ESPN, when asked to clarify what he meant, James stated that he would consider “if I want to continue to play.” James has faced various injuries in recent years, including an ankle injury in 2022 and a groin injury in 2019, both of which ended his seasons prematurely. In his pursuit of a fifth NBA Championship this season, James played through a right foot injury that may require surgery over the summer.

Despite this, the guaranteed NBA Hall of Famer played a significant role in leading the Lakers, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, deep into the playoffs. James told ESPN, “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, but there was nothing that made me feel like I couldn’t get to the finish line.”

In Monday night’s loss, James scored 40 points, demonstrating his continued ability to dominate a game. After discussing the possibility of retirement, the 19-time NBA All-Star acknowledged that he still believes he is better than “maybe 95” percent of the league’s players.

There are only a few things left for James to achieve. As a four-time league MVP and two-time Olympic gold medalist, he is often considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. After surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record earlier this year, James expressed one final goal: to be in a game with his son, Bronny. James’ eldest son, who is currently playing college basketball for the University of Southern California, will be eligible to play in the NBA in 2024.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” James said, adding, “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him.”