LeBron James, over his twenty plus years in basketball, has become indisputably one of the greatest NBA players of all time, something that would be very hard to let go of for both him and his loyal fans.
Fans feared such was the case though on Wednesday, when the basketball superstar was honored at the ESPYs, and he gave an emotional speech about his career, and its future.
The athlete received a special shout-out after back in February, he broke the NBA's all-time scoring record – an honor previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for 39 years – on a fadeaway 2-point shot in the final seconds of the third quarter of a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Speaking up at the podium, he first teased: "When the season ended, I said I wasn't sure if I was gonna keep playing," adding: "And I know a lot of experts told you guys what I said, but I'm here now speaking for myself."
He explained: "In that moment, I kept asking myself if I could still play without cheating the game.
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"Can I give everything to the game still?" he went on, before admitting: "Truth is I'm gonna ask myself this question at the end of the season for a couple of years now. I just never openly talk about it."
© GettyThen, he left the crowd on the edge of their seats when he began teasing that the day may have come for him to leave the court, with a dragged out: "The day I can't give the game everything on the floor, is the day I'll be done."
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After what surely felt like a painful pause, the attendees, and of course LeBron's fans, were quickly relieved to hear: "Lucky for you guys, that day is not today."
© GettyHe then went on to note that it's seeing his kids, sons LeBron "Bronny" James Jr., 18, and Bryce Maximus, 16 get to interact with his team and coaches that "brings me back every year."
© GettyHe said: "I see those kids and it brings me right back to where I play," adding: "Those kids get me back to where I need to be…"
Finally, to really reassure his fans, he maintained: "Yeah, I still got something left. A lot left."
© GettyLeBron shares his two sons plus daughter Zhuri Nova, eight, with his wife of ten years, Savannah James.
Their love story is as epic as his basketball career, as the two have been together since they went to high school, in Akron, Ohio. The two tied the knot in 2013, when he was 28 and she 26, hosting their wedding in San Diego, California.
