LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in no-man’s land. They don’t have an opponent for the media to ask them about because they are still waiting for the Heat/Raptors series to end, so when James addressed the media after practice on Thursday, they asked him about his retirement. With Kobe Bryant’s retirement already happening this season and the possibilities of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett retiring soon, people are starting to think about LeBron’s basketball mortality and just how much he has left in the tank.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, LeBron’s retirement isn’t entirely up to him.
“I think later on in my 30s,” James, 31, said of when he will start thinking about hanging it up. “It’s kind of up to my kids, really. I’ve missed so much of my kids’ tournaments and things of that nature when I’m playing. So, it’s kind of up to them. They’ll let me know when they’re tired of seeing me go away.”
LeBron has a lot of important events in his children’s lives. He currently has three kids: LeBron Jr. (11), Bryce (8), and Zhuri (1 1/2). LeBron Jr. and Bryce both play basketball, and LeBron likely misses a lot of their games because he constantly has games during the NBA season. Also, because LeBron and his teams have been so good, he is always playing basketball until the middle of June because he is constantly in the NBA Finals. This is more time away from his family, but I am sure they go to a lot of these games once the kids get out of school.
Another factor in his retirement: the amount of minutes he plays. As mentioned before, he is always in the Finals. Playing this far into the season for 5 years straight has made LeBron’s minutes add up quickly. He isn’t worried about this though because he has noticed that medical technology has made players careers last longer, and nutrition programs have also allowed for players to extend their careers.
“I think with the science and the research and the ability to have multiple trainers and things of that nature and also guys taking the individual account of their own bodies, guys are able to play into their late 30s and some into their 40s, as you’re seeing today,” James said. “You got Andre Miller, you got Timmy D [Tim Duncan] who are playing into their 40s. And I played with Ray Allen late in his 30s …
“[Guys are] playing into their late 30s because of the technology and also guys are taking care of their body and understanding, ‘Yeah, we can play beyond what the expectancy is of our sport.’ So, I think it’s a pretty cool thing. We got guys that are 36 on our team, and you look at RJ [Richard Jefferson], he is in better shape than anyone on our team. And you got James Jones as well. So, I think it’s been great to be around guys like that.”
LeBron has had an extremely successful career so far, and he has taken exceptional care of his body so far. If LeBron continues his habits, he will easily be able to play into his late 30s, and then when he does retire, he will be able to attend his kids games and be more involved in his family life.
