{"id":75946,"date":"2024-05-02T15:53:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T19:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=75946"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:53:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T19:53:16","slug":"charles-barkley-hopeful-that-nba-legend-retires-soon-lebron-james","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/02\/charles-barkley-hopeful-that-nba-legend-retires-soon-lebron-james\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Barkley is Hopeful That NBA Star Retires Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent interview<\/a>, Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley<\/a> made it clear he wants to see Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James<\/a> retire sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he retires while he can still play,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cI saw Michael Jordan<\/a> [play] with the [Washington] Wizards and it was not pretty. I saw Patrick Ewing<\/a> with the Orlando Magic. I would love to see [LeBron James] retire sooner rather than later\u2026because it ends badly when you keep on playing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James’ 21st season in the NBA came to an end after the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Despite James approaching his 40th birthday in December, the four-time MVP has shown no signs of slowing down. Last season, he appeared in 71 games. This was the most amount of games he played in a season since 2017-18. In those games, he averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game. Furthermore, James shot a career-high 41% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Recently, Rich Paul, James’ agent, said he thinks the future Hall of Famer has “two or three years left in the tank<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had an unbelievable career,\u201d Paul continues. \u201cI think we do see him next year. The \u2018how many more\u2019 after that, I do not know. But I think he got maybe two or three years left in the tank. Maybe, you know.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James has a player option for next season. Currently, nothing is official yet. However, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes the Akron native will opt out<\/a> but remain with the team regardless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think LeBron James is gonna retire & I do think he\u2019s gonna play at least one more season.. I really don\u2019t see him leaving the Lakers.. I think he will opt out of his contract though because I think Bronny is entering the draft\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Charles Barkley is Hopeful That NBA Star Retires Soon<\/h2>\n

LeBron James Doesn’t “Have Much Time Left”<\/h3>\n

In March, James talked about how much longer he plans on playing in the NBA. “King James” made it clear he will likely retire sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

\n

LeBron James on how long he expects to continue playing in the NBA: \u201cNot very long. \u2026 I\u2019m not gonna play another 21 years, that\u2019s for damn sure. But not very long. I don\u2019t know when that door will close as far as when I\u2019ll retire. But I don\u2019t have much time left.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/OtJzM6cheI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n