LeBron James jokes that rival star will push him into retirement

LeBron James addressed his eventual retirement — sort of — on Saturday with a funny jab at a rival player.

James appeared at a panel at Fanatics Fest in New York on Saturday and brought up how much longer he will play. The Los Angeles Lakers star joked that San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who was also part of the panel, was going to drive him into retirement more quickly with his emphatic shot blocking.

“I can’t play that much further, and the more and more times that I play, as long as he keeps smacking my f—ing shots into the stands, he’s going to make me retire,” James joked.

James has made it clear he has plenty of respect for Wembanyama, who is one of the leading lights among the NBA’s next generation of superstars. One can hardly blame him for being fed up with the 7-foot-3 center sending back his shots, though.

For now, James is expected to play at least one more NBA season. Wembanyama should also be back next season, and appears to be having quite the offseason. Maybe he is tuning up for the new campaign with the aim of driving James into retirement even more quickly than before.