LeBron James leans into retirement rumors with new ad

Is this the end for LeBron James? The NBA legend posted a video to his profile on X on Saturday that will likely only fan the flames of any retirement rumors he will face this offseason.James posted a seven-second clip of him sitting at a faux press conference when one person asked: “Are the retirement rumors true?”As the 40-year-old was set to answer, the clip quickly cut to black (“The Sopranos,” anyone?) without any response.

“I’ve been asking myself the same question… #ad,” he wrote with thinking and crown emojis.James has a player option with the Lakers worth more than $52 million for the coming season, though it’s still not clear if he’ll opt in or not.After Los Angeles was dispatched in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Timberwolves, James said he was uncertain about his basketball future.“I don’t know,” James told reporters.

“I don’t have an answer to that.Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens.

And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.“I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest.So, we’ll see.”The retirement chatter has surrounded James the past few years, which he officially squashed when he announced he’d return to the Lakers in 2023 at the ESPYs and again returned last season on a two-year, $104 million contract.

This all came after James said in 2022 that his last season in the NBA would be with his son Bronny.“My last year will be played with my son,” James told the Athletic in 2022.“Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be.“I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year.

It’s not about the money at that point.”Last year, the two did indeed play together as Bronny was taken in the second round of the NBA draft before appearing in 27 games at the NBA level.Whether the father-son duo plays more games together remains to be seen....