CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James will soon face a triple-team he can’t beat.
The NBA superstar, who is making another run toward a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said Thursday that he will extend his playing career only as long as his three children will let him.
“It’s kind of up to my kids, really,” said the 31-year-old father, who is in his 13th season as a pro. “I’ve missed so much of my kids’ tournaments and things of that nature when I’m playing. So, it’s kind of up to them. They’ll let me know when they’re tired of seeing me go away.”
James and his wife, Savannah, have two sons and a daughter: 11-year-old LeBron Jr., 8-year-old Bryce and 19-month-old Zhuri. Both boys play basketball.
The Cavs have been in limbo since completing a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland’s second sweep of these playoffs. The team has spent the past two days practicing while waiting to see if it will play the Toronto Raptors or Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. The Raptors lead the Heat - James’ former team - 3-2 in their series, which continues Friday night.
James has never given a firm timetable on how long he intends to play, but the four-time MVP isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. He keeps himself in impeccable physical shape and has done more to preserve his body this season by playing fewer minutes.
He’s into yoga and maintains a healthy diet that sometimes gets ruined.
“I like sweets,” he said. “More like dessert, stuff like that. I got to try to stay away from it, but it’s hard when you have an 11-year-old, 8-year-old and 2-year-old running around. Because that’s all they do all day long. So I got to try to stay away from them - which is impossible.”
