{"id":571534,"date":"2026-01-30T21:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/571534\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T21:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:37:17","slug":"lebron-james-gets-emotional-during-what-could-be-last-game-in-cleveland-just-trying-to-take-everything-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/571534\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James gets emotional during what could be last game in Cleveland: \u2018Just trying to take everything in\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

LeBron James<\/a> had to wipe away tears during the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 most recent matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as it may have marked the final hometown game of his legendary NBA career.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, during the game at Rocket Arena in Ohio, the Cavaliers paid tribute to the 41-year-old star<\/a>, who grew up in Akron and spent 11 seasons with the franchise, including delivering a long-awaited NBA championship to the city in 2016.<\/p>\n

During the first quarter, a special tribute video honoring James\u2019 career in Ohio played on the arena scoreboard. In footage of the moment<\/a>, the basketball icon appears to fight back tears before pulling his jersey over his face and later grabbing a tissue, as the crowd rose to give him a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters after the game, which the Cavaliers won, James reflected on the tribute and the growing questions about whether, after 23 historic seasons in the league and becoming its oldest player, if he\u2019s truly nearing retirement.<\/p>\n

\"LeBronBronny James #9 stands by LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 28, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to take everything in, not take the moments for granted,\u201d he said, per ESPN<\/a>. \u201cBecause it could be [my last season]. I obviously haven\u2019t made a decision on the future, but it very well could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The night was even more meaningful for James, who entered the league straight out of high school at 18, because he was sharing the court with his son, Bronny James, 21, who joined the Lakers in 2024. His mother, Gloria James, was also in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom gets to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time,\u201d he noted. \u201cI actually just started to think about how insane that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, retirement remains on James\u2019 mind. While speculation continues to swirl, the four-time champion says he\u2019s undecided.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the question gets asked more and the thought creeps in my mind more at 41 years old \u2014 when the end is and where\u2019s the finish line for us to hang this thing up,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the drive is how much juice I can squeeze out of this orange. \u2026 I\u2019m in a battle with Father Time, and I\u2019m taking it personal. I\u2019m going to see how many more times I can be victorious over him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James had to wipe away tears during the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 most recent matchup with the Cleveland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3772],"tags":[7,306,305,193,3846,74,185,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-571534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-cavaliers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavaliers","10":"tag-cleveland","11":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","12":"tag-clevelandcavaliers","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-lebron-james","15":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115986213010119931","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}