LeBron James isn’t ready to retire.
The 38-year-old sportsman was presented with the Best Record-Breaking Performance award – in recognition of the 2022/23 basketball season, during which he broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record – at the ESPYs on Wednesday (12.07.23) and used his acceptance speech to quash speculation he’s ready to walk away from the court for good.
LeBron was presented with the award by wife Savannah and their three children, Bronny, 18, Bryce, 16, and Zhuri, eight, and opened his speech with a tribute to his beloved family.
He said on stage at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre: “I wanted to start off by thanking my beautiful wife Savannah.
“For our family, no one has sacrificed more or put in more hard work than you and I appreciate you for that. I love you.
“It means so much to me to have you guys up here on stage… Thank you, guys, for being amazing kids, all three of you. The greatest blessing of my life.”
The LA Lakers star admitted he had been questioning his future in the game, but ultimately decided he still has “a lot left” to give.
He said: “When the season ended, I said I wasn’t sure if I was gonna keep playing.
“I’m here now, speaking for myself.
“In that moment, [I was] asking myself if I can still play without cheating the game. Can I give everything to the game still?
“The truth is, I’ve been asking myself this question at the end of the season for a couple years now, I just never openly talked about it.
“The real question for me is, ‘Can I play without cheating the game?’ The day I can’t give the game everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done.
“Luckily for you guys, today is not that day.”
To cheers from the crowd, he then said: “I still got something left. A lot left! I love you all and thank you so much for watching this journey thus far.”
LeBron admitted in May he had “a lot to think about” after the Laker’s missed out on a Championship win after losing to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 West Conference.
He said: “We’ll see what happens going forward, but I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest.
“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.”
