TORONTO _ LeBron James turned 33 less than two weeks ago and considering his age-defying level of performance this season, retirement is not imminent.
As he joked before shootaround Thursday at Air Canada Centre, "No, I've got too many sneakers to sell, still."
But James is closing in on becoming just the seventh player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points, with 29,874 going into the game against the Toronto Raptors. He's won three championships and four Most Valuable Player awards and could add to both of those totals this year.
James said he does not see the end, but he admitted that his sons LeBron Jr. and Bryce and daughter Zhuri will play a part in how much longer the world will witness his greatness.
"With my kids getting older, it's the only thing that would stop me from going as long as I would like to," James said. "I've got a 13-year-old son now, he's in the seventh grade. He's a damn good basketball player, too. On this road trip I've already missed four of his games. That's the thing that kind of sucks. Have a 10-year-old boy, 3-year-old girl, so, daddy side kicks in sometimes.
"That will be a deciding factor in how long I'll play, but right now I feel great. So, we'll see."
James has said before that he would love to spend a season in the NBA with LeBron Jr. if he proves good enough. Eligibility rules could change by then, with league commissioner Adam Silver saying in June he wanted them amended, although he wasn't sure he wanted to raise or lower the current age requirement of 19.
As for whether he can handle walking away, James compared that decision to getting engaged to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson on New Year's Eve 2011.
"You don't know until you make that decision. The game will let you know when it's over with," he said. "I kind of look at retiring for me as like getting engaged. I didn't know if I was ready or not, but I just felt like it was the time. The timing was right, the vibe was right.
"Did I know I was ready for marriage? No. I never had nobody in my family that had been married before, so I had never experienced it. I definitely never had nobody in my family that played in the NBA and retired, so, it'll be the same."
James ranks 22nd on the list of most NBA minutes played with 42,750. That total is higher than Michael Jordan (41,011), Bill Russell (40,726) and Larry Bird (34,443).
"We'll see, we'll see, but, right now I feel great. I don't feel 33," James said. "You guys know the all the minutes I've played in my career, but I don't feel like I've been to eight straight Finals. I don't feel like I came in at 18 and I've played pretty much 79, 80 percent of the games. Y'all keep following me, I'll keep it going."
If James has a number on how many more seasons he wants to go past this, his 15th, he wouldn't reveal it.
"Eighteen years I've been in this (spotlight), so, I've already exceeded everything I've ever dreamed about," he said. "At this point I'm just adding crazy toppings on the cake, like my daughter would do. Just throw all kinds of stuff on the cake and whatever happens, happens."
