LeBron James kept the answers calm, careful and unmistakably non-committal. The Los Angeles Lakers had just been swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the buzzer barely faded, and the four-time MVP was already trying to slow down a retirement conversation he has clearly thought about more than he is willing to admit publicly.
"Well, obviously it's a process. It's not about to happen right now," James said when asked how he transitions from full-throttle competition into reflection. "The process of thinking about the whole season and its futility, and processing it over the next couple weeks. Look back on some of the things you did great, some of the things you didn't do too well, some of the things that you wish would have went this way. But at the end of the day, you control the controllables, and what you can't control, you don't try to let it affect you too much."
A second reporter pressed harder, noting that James has been asked about retirement more this season than at any previous point in his career.
"I don't think I've come out like, oh, retirement is coming," James replied. "What my future is, I don't know obviously. I mean, this is obviously we still fresh from losing. I don't know what the future holds for me. As it stands right now tonight, I got a lot of time. I'll sit back, like I said last year after we lost to Minnesota, go back and recalibrate with my family, and talk with them and spend some time with them. And when the time comes, obviously you guys will know what I decide to do."
This is now the longest run James has spent with one franchise, a fact a Lakers beat reporter raised in trying to extract a more nostalgic answer. The 2020 bubble title, predictably, was where he went first.
"Winning the championship 2020 will stand at the top," James said. "That was the reason why I came here — to restore that level of play and restore this franchise back to what it was known for, winning championships and playing at a high level. To be out there with that group and go out there and win a championship and us competing at a championship level was something I kind of envisioned and we were able to accomplish that."
Asked to define this particular team's identity, James returned to a theme JJ Redick has used all season.
"Obviously injuries played a big part of it, but as far as our identity I thought we were super resilient. Whatever happened — either if it was me at the beginning of the season, or if it was AR going down, or if it was Luka going down, or reshaping lineups and guys stepping up and playing — we stayed resilient. For our group to have the moment that we had when Luka goes down with the hamstring and AR goes down with the oblique and we staring down the barrel of a playoff series versus Houston — our guys just responded and was super resilient. I would say resilient. That was the number one thing for our ball club to show."
The night's most affectionate answers were reserved for Austin Reaves, the undrafted guard James first started mentoring five years ago. Reaves had just told reporters that playing with Bronny would "mean the world" to him.
"That last part has nothing to do with me," James said. "Listen, he and his team will handle that situation. But seeing AR grow over what was five years — it's been nothing short of amazing. He's a hard worker. He loves the game. He wants to get better and he's not afraid of constructive criticism, and I kind of knew that from the beginning. I saw the talent. But I also saw that he was willing to put the work in, and he wasn't afraid of the moment. To see where he is today is awesome."
The single clearest answer of the night arrived right at the end, in response to a question about whether he still actually loves the game.
"The love of the game is always there. I don't think that ever goes away. I mean, MJ did the interview with Mike Tirico and he was just talking about his desire for the game still, even though he's not playing — but he still loves the game. We grow up playing a game that we love, and you do it at a high level — I don't think that'll ever go away."
But James, as always, was less interested in the romance and more interested in the discipline that has kept him on the floor at age 40-plus.
"The process for me has always been so much more important. If I fell out of love with the process, then I'll probably fall out of love with the game because now I'm not even treating the game with respect for me personally. I know how much work I put into it. If I'm now showing up to the arena for game day two hours before the game, I'm cheating the process. If I'm showing up for practice at 11 o'clock practice and I'm showing up at 10:00, 10:30, I'm cheating the process. So that means something is going on where I fell out of love with the game and the process."
Translation: as long as James can drag himself back into the gym at his preferred time, there is still a basketball reason to play. Whether his next stop is in a purple-and-gold uniform — or in any uniform at all — is now a conversation he and his family will have far away from the cameras.
