Western Conference Executives Say LeBron James’ ‘Retirement Statement’ Was Of Tactical Nature

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Even though LeBron James had a masterful performance in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the Denver Nuggets couldn’t be stopped from reaching their first ever NBA Finals.

James’ 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists were nullified by Nikola Jokic and his 30-point triple double.

While Denver will play the winner of Miami-Boston in the Finals starting June 1, LeBron James stirred up all the speculations in his post-game press conference, where he revealed that he is uncertain if he’ll be with the team next season, as retirement is under consideration.

“I got a lot to think about. Just personally, with me moving forward with the game of basketball, I got a lot to think about.”

Now, after some days have past, things are looking better that we’ll get to see LeBron James play a 21st season in history this coming fall. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reports that Western Conference executives are certain that LeBron isn’t retiring and that his post-game press conference was of tactical nature:

“He’ll suit up next year,” one Western Conference executive said. “He just changed the conversation. Now we’re not talking about a sweep; we’re talking about LeBron and retirement. He loves to control the narrative.”

“Give it a week,” another executive said. “Let’s see if he’s saying the same thing.”