LeBron James expressed his unspoken feelings through a joke.
Shortly after the Minnesota Timberwolves dealt the Los Angeles Lakers a gentleman’s sweep via a 106-93 win in Game 5 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, James was asked how physically taxing it was to play small ball since Anthony Davis was traded for Luka Dončić.
“No comment, I’ll never say that, because my guy AD (Davis) said what he needed, and he was gone the following week,” James told reporters in jest. “I got no comment. I put that uniform on every night, I gave everything that I had, and that’s all that matters.”
On January 23, Davis explicitly asked for a center so he could play his natural position (power forward) in a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Shams Charania. Instead of getting a center, the Lakers shipped him to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 2 unannounced for Dončić.
The seismic trade dramatically shook up both franchises’ foundations.
Lakers Outplayed, Trolled
The Lakers did try to trade for a center — Charlotte Hornets‘ Mark Williams for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap. But they rescinded it at the 11th hour due to undisclosed medical issues on the former Duke star.
It left them with only Davis’ backup Jaxson Hayes as their lone legitimate center on the roster.
Lakers coach JJ Redick made do with what they had and they enjoyed success for a while, clinching the No. 3 seed. It turned out, their small ball play and lack of depth was not set up for postseason success.
Hayes only played a total of 31 minutes in their five-game loss to Minnesota. The 7-foot center did not see action in Game 5.
Rudy Gobert had a monster game with 27 points, 24 rebounds and two blocks while Julius Randle unloaded 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ series-clinching win.
The Lakers were badly outrebounded 54-37, which resulted in 11 more field goal attempts for the Timberwolves, who were plus-16 in points in the paint and plus-10 in second chance scoring.
It appears Williams trolled the Lakers after they were eliminated with a smiley emoticon tweet and an internet meme on his Instagram story, suggesting he’s ready to attend the Lakers’ funeral.
Mark Williams on IG celebrating the Lakers’ downfall: pic.twitter.com/aiCVP5lCW3
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 1, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
LeBron James Non-Committal on NBA Future
The 40-year-old James looked spent at the end of the series, scoring only a total of five points on 2-of-9 shooting in both fourth quarters of Games 4 and 5. He played the entire second half of Game 4 and only a minute and 16 seconds of a breather in Game 5.
James left it all out on the floor for the Lakers, who head into the offseason with so many questions hanging above their heads — foremost of which is his NBA future on top of searching for a starting center.
“I don’t have an answer to that,” James told reporters when asked about coming back for next season. “Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”
James has a $52.7 million player option for next season, which he has to decide on by June 29.
‘No Expectation to Retire’
James’ non-committal postseason quotes are nothing new, as it has become an annual tradition.
Charania reported on Thursday on “The Pat McAfee Show” that James is expected to return next season.
“There’s no expectation for LeBron James to retire,” Charania said. “I will say that my sense, my understanding, is he will play at least another NBA season. You think about next year, 2025-26 [season], it’ll be year 23 that will set a league record. Year 23 for No. 23. The NBA All-Star is in Los Angeles. He’s potentially playing in Los Angeles. “There are a lot of stars that would align for next season, potentially, if that’s what LeBron James decides.”
James will turn 41 in December.
