On Sunday, LeBron James had the sellout crowd at Barclays Center standing on its feet after he dropped 40 to help the Lakers cruise past the Brooklyn Nets. However, while he has had several such 40-point performances in his illustrious career, what made this one special was his career-high-tying nine three-pointers on ten-shot attempts from the deep. With this, his three-point percentage is now at a career-high 41.6% for the season. While praiseworthy, this statistic also brings to light the glaring reality.

James can no longer rely solely on his physical prowess to dominate the game. This season, instead of driving to the rim as frequently as possible, the 4x MVP has transformed his approach, shooting more efficiently from the three. After Sunday’s 116-104 win over the Nets, the 39-year-old acknowledged that the end is closer than it’s ever been. “I’m not gonna play another 21 years, that’s for damn sure. But, not very long. I don’t know when that door will close as far as when I’ll retire. But I don’t have much time left,” James told The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.

However, according to Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce, James is just “blowing smoke.” He further explains that the Lakers forward easily has at least two years before he calls it a career. “Say his son, Bronny, comes out this year, we already know we got next year, but let’s say Bronny stays, which may happen also, that’s two years minimum,” added Pierce.

Moreover, there have also been reports about James negotiating a three-year, $150 million deal with the team. Further supporting this theory, Warriors’ legend Tim Legler thinks that James was just “irritated.”

Was LeBron James “irritated”?

Imagine this: you just dropped 40 points while adding seven rebounds and five assists to help your team, which is currently fighting for a play-in spot, to a victory, and someone asks about retirement. That wouldn’t feel so good. Would it? This is what Tim Legler thinks happened at the moment. “You could tell that he was irritated by getting asked that in that moment. I’m trying to get this team ready for some sort of a playoff run, you know, if we can survive the play-in and get on to a series, that’s where I’m at. And I just had a great game, why are you asking me about that,” said Legler.

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There might be some truth to Legler’s words. James is still performing at a high level, and he has voiced his wish to play with Bronny on the main stage, ideally on the same team. And when he is this close to achieving what he called would be his “greatest achievement,” it’s hard to imagine he’ll hang up his boots soon.

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