LeBron James to mull over NBA future after LA Lakers play-off exit

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James says he will take time to decide whether to return for a 23rd National Basketball Association (NBA) season, after his Los Angeles Lakers were dumped out of the first round of the play-offs by the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 30.

The Timberwolves produced a clinical 103-96 win to complete a 4-1 series victory, as the Lakers exited the post-season in the first round for the second straight year.

Minnesota advance to a Western Conference semi-final showdown against the winners of Golden State’s series against Houston. The Rockets kept their hopes alive with a 131-116 thrashing of the Warriors, narrowing the gap in their series to 3-2.

“I don’t know,” James, who had 22 points in the loss, said when asked how many more years he would play.

“I don’t have the answer to that. (It’s) something I sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and just talk through it and see what happens and just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”

James, who turned 40 on Dec 30, averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game in the regular season as he set a flurry of milestones. But there will not be a fifth title to go with the two he won with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, with hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and with the Lakers in 2020.

Already the league’s all-time leading scorer, in March he became the first player to amass more than 50,000 career points.

He also joined NBA icon Michael Jordan as the only players to score 40 points at the age of 40 when he poured in 42 in the Lakers’ win over Golden State in February.

Later that month he and the Lakers were energised by the addition of Luka Doncic, the Slovenian star who led the Dallas Mavericks to the Finals last season.

But James said the most important achievement this season was playing alongside son Bronny as the first father-son duo to play together in a regular-season NBA game.

“No. 1, for sure,” he said of playing with his son.

“That’s not even close. To be able to play the game that I love and to be able to be alongside my son, this whole year has been one of the most gratifying, satisfying journeys I’ve ever been on.”

As the Lakers exit the play-offs, the Denver Nuggets will try to close out their Western Conference series when they face the Clippers in Game 6 on May 1 (May 2, Singapore time) at Inglewood, California.

The Nuggets won Game 5 as they watched Jamal Murray go ballistic with 43 points on April 29 in a 131-115 home win that gave the team a 3-2 series lead.

The point guard has six career 40-point efforts in the post-season, which is a franchise record.

“When he’s aggressive, we’re a different team,” said Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook. “When he’s got that swagger and he’s going out and competing at the level he did, we’re a tough team to beat.”

The Clippers are hoping for a re-emergence from James Harden in Game 6. The guard averaged 23.3 points over the first three games, but it dropped to 13 over the past two contests.

“I think Denver made up their mind that they’re going to take him out of the series,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “And they’re doing a good job. I’ve got to do a better job of finding ways to get him open.” AFP, REUTERS