LeBron James openly admitting that he is considering retirement after a rough 2022-23 season has stirred a lot of conversation, as the league reckons for a future without the man that has been its defining superstar for almost 20 years now.
With journalists saying LeBron discussed retirement to get people to ‘control the narrative‘ of his sweep loss to the Denver Nuggets, his former teammate and ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson defended him.
“An Eastern Conference executive calls out Jokic for sweeping the Lakers and getting too much rest before the Finals. It’s just hard for me to put my face and name behind every word I say, but some coward wants to hide and chirp cuz a player after year 20 is thinking about it?”
A Eastern Conference executive call out Jokic for sweeping the Lakers and getting too much rest before the Finals🙄. It’s just hard for me to put my face and name behind every word I say but some coward wants to hide and chirp cuz a player after year 20 is thinking about it? https://t.co/YPaNBK2Ya6
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) May 24, 2023
The reason why most of these analysts are engaging is because of their outlandish takes that usually throw negativity toward a player. Jefferson and others at ESPN are also guilty of this but in this case, he was right to defend LeBron.
Even if James has shown a tendency of controlling the narrative, trying to hate on the man who just had the greatest 20th season we have ever seen for contemplating retirement is a very lowbrow move.
Should LeBron James Call It Quits?
I don’t know how we can look at a 38-year-old drop 40 points with 10 rebounds and 9 assists in an elimination game and say ‘Yeah, he should retire.’ Honestly, it’s surprising that even LeBron is thinking like that after repeatedly showing everyone that he wants to play until 2024 to share the court with his son.
Now he said he doesn’t mind if he can’t play with his son. He also looked extremely fatigued at the end of the Nuggets series, despite his play on the court being sensational for his age. Everyone could see that James’ biggest rival this playoff run was his own body, as he couldn’t sustain high levels of energy in late-game situations and was dealing with a foot injury that hurt his speed and bounce.
All those factors and knowing that he can’t single-handedly carry a team anymore had to have played a part. If he wants to be that version of himself, it’s best to retire while at the top. But fans will clamor for him to come back, so his decision will be crucial.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
