LeBron James Pertimbangkan Pensiun Setelah Lakers Tersingkir dari Playoff NBA

Masa depan karier bintang Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James di kompetisi NBA masih menjadi teka-teki setelah timnya dipastikan tersingkir dari babak playoff oleh juara bertahan Oklahoma City Thunder pada Senin malam.

Pebasket berusia 41 tahun tersebut mengemas 24 poin dalam pertandingan terakhirnya musim ini, namun ia enggan terburu-buru mengumumkan keputusan apakah akan pensiun atau kembali bermain untuk musim ke-24 yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya.

Kekalahan tipis 115-110 pada laga keempat memastikan Lakers tersapu bersih oleh Thunder dalam kondisi tim yang pincang akibat cedera pemain kunci.

Lakers harus memulai rangkaian playoff tanpa juara pencetak angka NBA Luka Doncic dan pencetak poin terbanyak kedua Austin Reaves, meski James sempat memimpin tim mengejutkan Houston Rockets di putaran pertama.

Komitmen masa depan James kini menjadi perhatian besar di NBA karena statusnya yang merupakan agen bebas tanpa batasan.

"I don’t know what the future holds for me, obviously, as it stands right now tonight," kata LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

James menambahkan bahwa dirinya kini memiliki banyak waktu setelah tersingkir dari kompetisi.

"I’ve got a lot of time now. I think I said it last year after we lost to Minnesota. I’ll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them, and then obviously when the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do," ujar LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Meskipun performanya sedikit terpengaruh usia dan cedera linu panggul yang membuatnya absen di awal musim, James tetap mencatatkan rata-rata 20,9 poin, 7.2 asis, dan 6.1 rebound per gim musim ini.

"Nobody has any idea what the future holds, and I don’t either," kata LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Ia menegaskan akan memanfaatkan waktu jeda kompetisi ini untuk mengevaluasi keseluruhan musimnya sebelum mengambil keputusan.

"I’ll take time to recalibrate and look over the season and see what’s best for my future, and when I get to that point, everyone will know," ujar LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Performa Lakers di tengah badai cedera juga mendapat apresiasi tersendiri dari sang kapten yang melihat ketangguhan besar dalam skuadnya.

"It was so many different seasons in one season with our ballclub," kata LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Menurutnya, cedera memang memegang peran besar, namun identitas yang ditunjukkan timnya sangat luar biasa.

"Obviously injuries played a big part in it, but as far as our identity, I thought it was super-resilient," ujar LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Ia sangat bangga dengan respons rekan-rekannya ketika dua pilar utama tim harus menepi sesaat sebelum laga krusial dimulai.

"For our group to have the moment that we had when Luka goes down with the hamstring and AR goes down with the oblique and we’re staring down the barrel of a playoff series with Houston, I thought our guys responded and were just super-resilient," kata LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Keberhasilan melewati adangan pertama di fase playoff dianggap sebagai pencapaian besar bagi skuad yang tersisa.

"To win that series was big-time for the group that went out there," ujar LeBron James, penyerang Los Angeles Lakers.

Kekaguman atas ketahanan James di usia senja juga datang langsung dari pemain bintang tim lawan setelah seri pertandingan berakhir.

"It’s amazing what he’s doing out there at this age," kata Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, megabintang Oklahoma City Thunder.

Pemain Thunder tersebut menilai performa impresif James sangat sulit diungkapkan dengan kata-kata karena ia tetap menjadi ancaman utama.

"It’s very impressive. It’s hard to put it to words. He’s not very old in the grand scheme of life, but for the NBA, he’s pretty old, and he doesn’t seem like it out there. He was a force. He was the top of the scouting report all series. His size gave us issues at times. He was impressive out there. I’m not sure we’ll see anything like that again, his longevity and his greatness," ujar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, megabintang Oklahoma City Thunder.

Di sisi lain, mantan pemain Lakers Byron Scott justru menyarankan agar klub tidak memperpanjang kerja sama dengan James demi masa depan tim.

"I don’t think so. It’s kind of run its course with LeBron; he’s been here eight years or nine years. And I think when you get a guy like a Luka Doncic that’s in his mid 20s, you got to start building around him. So I think allowing LeBron to go wherever else he wants to go next year, I think he’ll probably play another two years, he’s in that great of condition," kata Byron Scott, mantan pemain Los Angeles Lakers.

Scott berargumen bahwa melepas James akan memberikan ruang gaji yang besar bagi klub untuk mendatangkan bintang baru yang lebih muda.

"But for the Lakers, I think it would be to their best interest to allow him to go, and then you got $50 million on that cap that you can go get two other superstars to go along with Luka and Austin Reeves," ujar Byron Scott, mantan pemain Los Angeles Lakers.

Ia menambahkan bahwa Lakers harus segera meremajakan skuad agar bisa bersaing dengan tim-tim muda yang tangguh di Wilayah Barat.

"So I think the future for the Lakers is bright, if they move on from LeBron…you got an OKC team, and you got a San Antonio team that are deep, and they’re both young, so you got to get younger, and you got to get more very good two-way basketball players," kata Byron Scott, mantan pemain Los Angeles Lakers.

Spekulasi kepindahan James kini mengarah ke beberapa tim besar seperti Golden State Warriors untuk berduet dengan Stephen Curry, atau kembali ke Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jurnalis media The Athletic James Edwards III mengungkapkan pandangannya mengenai potensi reuni emosional sang bintang dengan klub kampung halamannya.

"My heart wants James to end his career in Cleveland. The story writes itself: The game’s greatest player, arguably, keeps returning to his Midwest home. James and Ohio are synonymous with each other. That’s where it lived up to the expectations as an all-time great. That’s where it started. I’d love for that to be where it ends. My head tells me that James will stay in California but go to the Golden State Warriors. It just feels like James and Stephen Curry have always wanted to play together. But it’s not my preference," kata James Edwards III, staf NBA The Athletic.

Rekan sejawatnya, Doug Haller, juga menilai bahwa mengakhiri karier di tim tempat semuanya dimulai merupakan sebuah penutup yang paling indah.

"Whenever the Lakers have come to town the past couple years, I’ve tried to remind myself: You’re watching one of the great athletes of all time. Enjoy this. Don’t take it for granted. But I admit: Watching LeBron ride it out for another season on a team that has no chance of winning a title (as long as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama stay healthy) does not excite me. Cleveland is the better option. Sports are great with opening chapters (promise!) and middle chapters (rings!), but they stink at closing chapters (retire!). Superstars can reach unimagined heights, but they never know when to hop off the escalator before it breaks down. Or in this case, where. Cleveland is the obvious move. No one would appreciate a LeBron farewell tour more than those who were there when it started. A perfect ending to a brilliant career," ujar Doug Haller, staf NBA The Athletic.

Analis John Hollinger turut mengamini bahwa opsi bergabung dengan tim lain di luar Cleveland akan terasa kurang memiliki ikatan emosional yang kuat bagi James.

"While there are many places where James’ career could end, there is only one place where it should end: Cleveland. As fun as it might be to imagine, say, him and Curry taking one more shot at glory together by teaming up in Golden State, or him trying to drag the Grizzlies to the playoffs while renting a penthouse in the Memphis Hyatt Centric, or him joining up with a power team like the New York Knicks or Boston Celtics to snag another ring, the narrative is the same: LeBron would merely be a mercenary in that setup, in a city where he has no connection. He can stay in Los Angeles for that. James finishing things off in Cleveland, however? That would have meaning. Playing for a real contender, in the city where it all started and in the region where he was born and raised, would be the perfect finishing touch, the cherry on the sundae that is among sports’ all-time great careers. Virtually any other landing spot would feel hollow, if not downright weird, in comparison," kata John Hollinger, staf NBA The Athletic.

Namun, jurnalis Law Murray mengungkapkan fakta lain mengenai preferensi pribadi James terkait kota tersebut yang ia dengar langsung baru-baru ini.

"Look, James told me in April that he doesn’t even like going to Cleveland, along with Memphis and Milwaukee. But he’d just be in Cleveland for work with a team that could be quite intriguing. Plus, he’d get to visit the other 27 NBA cities. James has enough gas in the tank to play at a high level, and the Lakers have enough on-ball players. The Miami Heat version of LeBron was the most powerful, but we don’t need to see him go back there. If the end is near, let it be in a Cavaliers uniform," ujar Law Murray, staf NBA The Athletic.

Sementara itu, Eric Nehm lebih memilih melihat James bertahan satu musim lagi di Los Angeles untuk mendukung penuh barisan pemain muda Lakers.

"I would love to see one last season with the Lakers. I thought that March stretch, when James was functioning as the third option and filling in all the gaps, was awesome. I could not believe he dove on the floor twice for loose balls in that overtime win over the Nuggets. You just don’t expect to see one of the all-time greats playing like that in his 23rd season. It was unbelievable. Let’s have him run it back one more season in that same role in Los Angeles. Right now, his career has four relatively clean chapters: the start in Cleveland, the sojourn to Miami, the return to Cleveland and the ending in Los Angeles. Trying to grab one last ring with the Lakers in his final season while serving as the do-it-all third option with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves would be the outcome I’d enjoy watching most," kata Eric Nehm, staf NBA The Athletic.

Hingga kini, manajemen Los Angeles Lakers belum mengeluarkan pernyataan resmi terkait langkah strategis mereka menghadapi bursa pasar bebas mendatang.