Was this NBA GOAT LeBron James’ ‘Last Dance?’

Los Angeles Lakers star and all-time great LeBron James is considering retirement from basketball after losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers were swept 4-0 in the series, losing in a tight contest 113-111, with James scoring a playoff career-high of 31 points in the first half.

If it was to be James' final game in the NBA, what a stat line to finish on, scoring 40 points, grabbing ten rebounds, and dishing out nine assists.

With the prospect of James retiring now real, the resemblance to Michael Jordan's walk away from the game in 1998 is drastically similar, with the pair leaving as still the best players in the NBA.

Speaking at the post-game press conference, James said: "I got a lot to think about just personally, with me moving forward in the game of basketball, I got a lot to think about."

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, he asked James, "When you say got to think about stuff, what thread should we be pulling on that?" James said, "If I want to continue to play."

James led The Lakers to the seventh seed in the West and played in all of his side's post-season games while managing a tendon injury in his foot that initially popped in February.

Despite the frequent occurrence of injuries in recent months, according to espn.com, James said, "I knew I could get to the finish line. I knew I had to deal with it and deal with the pain or deal with not being able to be myself before the injury."

Here are some reasons why it would be unthinkable for LeBron to walk away.

LeBron's contract hasn't run out yet with the Los Angeles Lakers, having one season remaining and a player option extension going into the 2024-2025 season.

According to ESPN, his contract next season is worth $46.7 million and the following season worth $50.4 million.

As his eldest son Bronny James has got older, LeBron has made it clear that he wants to share the floor with him, saying: 'It would be the icing on the cake' after an interview with ESPN earlier in the year.

His son Bronny recently committed to the University of Southern California, meaning James may have to adjust his expectations of having the dream send-off.

The key factor of all as to why it would be unthinkable for James to leave the NBA is that numbers suggest he's still a top-ten player in the league.

Across the 2022-2023 regular season, James averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in 55 games, leading The Lakers to the seventh seed and the Western Conference Finals.

According to ESPN, when asked if a full summer of rehab could get him back to the player he was before his foot injury, James nodded confidently, saying: "I'm still better than 90% of the NBA, maybe 95%."