LeBron James’ retirement talk likely a push to get Lakers to build a champion

3LeBron James shook up the sports world Monday night by just intimating that he’s considering retirement, by simply saying he’s “got to think about it.”

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We have to respect the NBA’s all-time leading scorer by taking him at his word. James — as methodical and calculating as any athlete of his generation — always thinks about everything.

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But he surely thought about how his comments would land, so who were they intended for?

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James’ stated plan has been to continue for another two years, so that he can play alongside his son Bronny after a year at USC.

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But plans change. James is just 548 minutes behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes logged in league history — and in all that time, he’d never broached retirement until Monday. But we have to remember, this wasn’t just any Monday.

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“Coming off a tough loss like that, the work we’ve put in this season, I think I was ready to retire after last night, too,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham joked Tuesday.

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James had just poured his heart, soul and 40 points into an elimination game, playing on a bad foot. The Lakers’ star had just survived a physical battle against Memphis,

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gutted out an emotional win over the Warriors and lost a draining duel with Denver. And all at the age of 38, when his contemporaries are disappearing.

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Longtime pal Carmelo Anthony had retired earlier that day. Tom Brady had already ridden off into a sunset free of sacks and blindside hits.

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Asking an aging athlete moments after their season ended if they’re returning is a journalistic necessity, but it’s also the exactly the wrong time for physically and emotionally drained players to truly know.

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Athletes often vow they’re retiring, only to return. Others walk away for good at the peak of their powers (the recently-deceased Jim Brown did it the same year he won MVP and led the NFL in rushing, and Barry Sanders was a year removed from MVP).

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