As Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James gets older, more and more of his peers begin to hang up their sneakers for good.
Recently, James saw one of his best friends and former teammates Carmelo Anthony retire via a touching video he released.
After Anthony made his announcement, James deeply reflected on his friend’s decision. “Well, I kind of knew the announcement was going to happen because I shot the video a week ago [laughter] that you guys seen today. So, people probably think I’m lying about that, too, huh? I shot that video like a week ago, so I already knew the announcement was coming, just didn’t know which day, but it happened today.
“Still bittersweet, honestly. That’s one of my best friends when I got into this league, even before I got into this league. We had so many moments when we were in high school from competing against each other to sitting outside of a hotel room at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning on the steps of a hotel and just talking about our journey up until where we were 17, I was 16, he was 17, and what we could possibly do going forward, what we could possibly do for our mothers, what we could possibly do for our families if we just continued to stay focused. I believe we was a driving force for one another. We were locked at the hip since high school.
“And then you guys saw once we got into the NBA, he was always a motivating factor for me, being in the Western Conference, I was in the East. So, I would play our games and then rush home downtown Cleveland where I had an apartment my first two years in the league, and rushed and turned the Nuggets games on and watched Melo play. All the way to the point where we didn’t make the playoffs my first year, I was in Denver for his first playoff game. You could look that up, too, just in case you think I’m lying about that, too.
“So definitely just a bittersweet moment today to see one of my great friends, I never say call it quits, just to say that, you know, it’s an amazing run. An amazing accomplishment. An amazing career. And you know we just we’ll always be joined at the hip no matter what.”
James and Anthony were basically like brothers on and off the court, so it’s understandable for the Lakers star to feel conflicted about Anthony’s retirement. Still, it’s a momentous occasion for Anthony who will go down as one of the greatest players the league has ever seen.
LeBron James likely to return for Year 21
James turned heads after the Western Conference Finals ended when he teased the possibility of him retiring. However, the King is expected to return for Year 21 where he and Los Angeles will have a good shot at making another run at a title.
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