That left knee injury was later revealed to be a Grade 2 MCL sprain. As James recovers from the injury, speculations about his NBA future are in every corner. James has a player option to return to the Los Angeles Lakers next season. But the leading scorer in NBA history turns 41 in December, an age when very few can even think of carrying on.

CBS Sports’ Ashley Nicole Moss recently floated the idea of James abandoning Luka Doncic and the Lakers and inking a deal with the organization that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft.

The Lakers’ star says the MCL sprain likely would have caused him to miss the rest of the first-round series had the Lakers defeated Minnesota in Game 5.