NBA: LeBron James questions retirement after Lakers' season-ending loss to Denver Nuggets

LeBron James (Pic: AFP)

After 20 years of a successful NBA career, LeBron James fuelled speculations about his retirement in a post-game press conference after his team was swept by the Denver Nuggets, who ended the Lakers' season with a 113-111 victory.

The 38-year-old James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and immense frustration after Los Angeles' remarkable late-season surge ended with four consecutive defeats. Although the top scorer in NBA history spoke about himself as part of the Lakers next season, James also said he hasn't made up his mind on retirement.

"We'll see what happens going forward," James said in the final answer of his postgame news conference. "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."

After missing a month of regular season due to foot injury, James returned with a series of stellar playoff performances while the Lakers knocked off second-seeded Memphis and eliminated defending champion Golden State. That didn't matter much to James, who was disappointed after the Game 4 loss.

"I don't like to say it's a successful year, because I don't play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career," James said. "You know, I don't get a kick out of making a conference (finals) appearance. I've done it a lot, and it's not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the (NBA) Finals."

After failing to win a title this year, James is thinking about whether he wants to do it all again. One major obstacle to any retirement thoughts is his long-stated desire to play an NBA season alongside his son, Bronny, who will be a freshman at USC this fall and couldn't join the league until the fall of 2024 at the earliest.

(With AP inputs)