Rumors have been circulating on if LeBron James will retire after taking a loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals. 

On Monday, James posted a cryptic message to his IG story, quoting Jay Z lyrics that has NBA fans feeling like he might really call it quits. As we previously reported, after the shocking loss, James admitted he he was unsure about whether he’d return for a 21st season in the NBA. “We’ll see what happens going forward,” he told reporters. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. … Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball.”

 

Now I’m a new post Lebron seems to continue to tease fans with announcing a retirement soon. “I’m supposed to be #1 on everybody list, we’ll see what happens when I no longer exists.” The NBA all star, posted.

A lot of NBA fans and commentators have been weighing in on if they think Lebron is really going to retirement. Former NBA star, Charles Barkley reacted to the news saying he was disappointment in him for hinting at a retirement.

“I was disappointed in LeBron. He had to know that these fools on TV were gonna talk about it all the time. I got so frustrated the other day watching television. The first two stories were LeBron retiring, not about how great the Denver Nuggets played. How great [Nikola Jokic] is,” he said.

“And hell no, LeBron isn’t gonna retire!” He continued.

James has one season remaining on his contract with the Lakers, worth $46.7 million for 2023-24, and a player option for the following season worth $50.4 million.

Over the past several years, he has repeatedly made it known that his goal is to play in the league with his oldest son, Bronny, before he retires. As he approached passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record in February, he told ESPN the last thing left for him to accomplish after the scoring mark was, “I got to play with my boy.”