LeBron James has been open about not having a lot of time left as an NBA player, which made his return trip to Cleveland for Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Cavaliers all the more special.
Speaking to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com after the Cavs’ 134-110 victory over the Lakers, James admitted he may only have one more game in the city where he spent 11 years of his career:
Wednesday’s game featured another historic moment for LeBron in Cleveland late in the fourth quarter. Bronny James, who hadn’t played since the season opener, checked in for the final five minutes. He scored his first points in the NBA and received an ovation from the crowd at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Before the game, the Cavs welcomed Bronny back to Cleveland by posting images in the arena from when he was a child andcelebrating on the court with his father and the rest of the team following their victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
LeBron had a good showing in an otherwise rough night for the Lakers. He finished with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, six rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.
The four-time NBA MVP told reporters during media day on Sept. 30 he hasn’t given much thought to his long-term playing future.
James signed a two-year, $101.4 million contract with the Lakers during the offseason with a player option for 2025-26. It would seem unlikely that he doesn’t announce his retirement prior to his final season, whenever that may be, to get a farewell tour like Kobe Bryant did.
Since the Lakers and Cavs play in opposite conferences, they only play twice during the regular season with each team getting one home game.
Both teams have played well to start the season, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility LeBron and the Lakers could play the Cavs in the NBA Finals.
More likely, though, is that this will be the Lakers’ lone trip to Cleveland this season. It was an eventful trip for the entire James family, even though the result from the game didn’t go the way they wanted it to.