CLEVELAND, Ohio — LeBron James checks out of a game in Cleveland for what could be the last time ever, and we never could’ve pictured this ending.
James is wearing a Lakers jersey, first of all. Been wearing one for eight straight seasons now, his longest consecutive stint with any team. Riddle me that.
He’s also playing poorly against the Cavs at Rocket Arena — 11 points, five assists and six turnovers on 3-10 shooting — and they are whooping. His. Team’s. Tail. They’re forcing turnovers, slamming dunks, securing offensive rebounds. Second-year forward Jaylon Tyson, who will later proclaim, “This is Donovan Mitchell’s city now,” during ESPN’s postgame interview, is scoring 20 points, dishing six assists, grabbing six rebounds and bothering James on defense.
It’s getting so ugly — like, 28-point deficit ugly — that Lakers coach J.J. Redick calls timeout and pulls his starters with 8:23 remaining. James sits near the end of the bench and dons a black, long-sleeved warm-up shirt. He never plays again during the 129-99 Cavs win.
Was that it?
We’re all skeptics when it comes to LeBron, who has pump-faked retirement before and seldom encounters a spotlight under which he wouldn’t soak. But when the Cavs played his tribute video Wednesday, depicting a younger James scoring 25 straight points against the 2007 Pistons, cameras caught the 41-year-old version fighting back tears, then hiding them under his jersey. If he was acting in that moment, then he’s come a long way since the “Space Jam” remake. Looked real to me.
“It just comes from being present,” James said of his in-game emotions. “I was just more present today than I’ve been over the last seven years.”
Now why, pray tell, would that be?
At the very least, James seems to be thinking more — and more seriously — about retirement these days. He’s still waiting to broach the subject at home, still feels like he’s playing well (22 points, six rebounds and six assists per game), and he says he still loves “the process” of preparing his mind and body.
“I’m in a battle with father of time, and I’m kind of taking it personal,” James said. “I want to see how many more times I could be victorious over him.”
_But_ he also wants to leave on his own terms. He vows not to become the player who can’t walk off the court. In a career defined by pinpoint passes, he’s trying to thread one more needle.
When’s the right time to walk away?
Such is the question that has plagued star athletes since we started throwing balls into hoops, mitts and end zones. As fellow Lakers star Luka Doncic said postgame, “You do this your whole life. It’s kind of hard to let it go.”
Amen. And it’s even harder for a star to stick their landing.
Per Basketball Reference, only 12 Hall-of-Fame players have finished their careers with an NBA championship, the hooper’s version of a perfect dismount.
Eight played for a version of Bill Russell’s Celtics, who won 11 championships in 13 seasons (retire on top anytime). The other four legends played reduced roles in their own finales. Save for Russell himself, who ended his career by grabbing 21 rebounds, anchoring Boston’s defense and _coaching_ the Celtics in a 108-106 win over the Lakers during Game 7 of the NBA Finals, you can’t find a pantheon-level player who completed such a clean goodbye.
Bulls legend Michael Jordan came close. He nailed his first ending with a go-ahead jumper to beat the Jazz (in Utah) for his sixth championship, but Jordan couldn’t stay away. He just had to return three years later and play two forgettable seasons with the Wizards.
Lakers icon Kobe Bryant dropped the mic (literally) after scoring 60 points in his final game, but he did so to secure the Lakers’ 17th win of his last season. Not how the winning-obsessed Mamba envisioned his exit.
Reality, like old age, can be cruel.
Now, James? James could separate his story by ending with one more return to his roots. C’mon. We’re all thinking it.
One last run in Cleveland. James, Mitchell, Mobley. He could push the Cavs over their playoff hump. They could help a legend stick his landing. They couldn’t write a better ending at SpringHill Entertainment.
Otherwise, the last memory inside his home arena will be watching from the bench. He stood twice during the final eight minutes of Wednesday’s game. Once for a Redick timeout with 4:35 to play, during which Cavs game ops pronounced this beating a “Cavalanche” and released fake snow from the ceiling, and once more when James’ son, Bronny, poked a pass into the open court and leapt for a breakaway dunk.
Bronny’s highlight delighted the home crowd, which began chanting for him (BRON-NY! BRON-NY!) early in the fourth quarter. And LeBron applauded when his son caught a rhythm while hitting two late 3-pointers (final tally: Bronny eight points, LeBron 11).
Beyond that, however, the King witnessed garbage time just like his subjects.
He watched the Cavs increase their lead as high as 34 points late. He witnessed Cleveland forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin impersonate one of James’ windmill dunks right in front of the Lakers bench. And as the (potential) final seconds ticked from James’ Cleveland career, he walked toward the locker room at the buzzer and granted fans a few high fives on his way.
No pomp. No circumstance. No perfect ending, if you even believe in such a thing.
“I don’t know,” James said. “What’s perfect, what defines perfect? Whatever brings you the most happiness is what defines perfect for you individually.
“It’s not defined off wins and losses or a championship here or All-Star here, whatever the case may be. I think it’s defined and what makes you happy in your last season or whatever season that you feel complete. I’m not quite sure how to answer that, but...”
Don’t worry, LeBron. Nobody does.
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