The Los Angeles Lakers know that their time with LeBron James on the team is quickly running out. While King James is still performing at an astonishingly high level, it’s only a matter of time before he finally calls it a career.
Every year becomes more difficult for LeBron to win a championship, and some of the game’s legends implore him to think of his legacy and retire while he’s still at the top of his game.
However, it seems like James still has a lot left in the tank, as he shares his honest thoughts on the Purple and Gold’s first-round exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James thinks the Los Angeles Lakers wasted opportunities vs Nuggets
In the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast, LeBron shared his thoughts with JJ Redick on what cost the Lakers to lose the game.
Per The Spun’s Chris Rosvoglou:
“[Expletive], we had so many opportunities. To lose in five, two of them being game-winners by Jamal, we had so many opportunities,” James said. “Obviously, being up 20 in Game 2 in their building and losing that game and having so many opportunities in other games, you just feel like, [expletive], one play here, one play there, could have made a heck of a difference. But when you’re playing against a team like that, you have zero room for error. And I believe we made too many errors in some of the games.”
He also ceded that the Nuggets were the superior team and deserved to win the series:
“Emotionally, I feel like we was right there. Obviously, in every game, to be able to steal a game. But, at the same time, we weren’t, and that’s why we lost the series. The better team won. The better team won, for sure, give credit where credit is due.”
James’ stats throughout the five-game stretch shows just how much he believes in this thought. He had his best postseason performance in three seasons with averages of 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 2.4 steals. He also shot better with 56.6/38.5/73.9% splits.
It’s still unclear if King James will remain with the Purple and Gold after this season. Whoever the Lakers decide to pick as their head coach could have a big influence on whether James actually stays.
Regardless of where James plays next season, one can tell with his speech that he still wants to play at least one more season of NBA basketball.
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