End of an Era? LeBron James mulls future after Lakers playoff exit

Los Angeles: NBA superstar LeBron James's bid for a fifth title in his 22nd season ended Wednesday after falling 103-96 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of their Western Conference playoff series.

The sixth-seeded Timberwolves completed a 4-1 victory in the best-of-seven first-round series over the Lakers that had surged to the third seed in the West after the stunning acquisition of Luka Doncic in February.

LeBron says he'll take time to decide whether to return for a 23rd season after his Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated on the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I don't know," James said when asked how many more years he would play. "I don't have the answer to that. (It's) something I sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens and just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play."

James, who turned 40 on December 30, averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game in a season that featured a new set of milestones, but not a fifth title go with the two he won with Miami in 2012 and 2013, the one he won with hometown team Cleveland in 2016 and his 2020 crown with the Lakers.

Already the league's all-time leader scorer, in March James became the first player to amass 50,000 career points.

He joined NBA icon Michael Jordan as the only players to score 40 points at the age of 40 when he poured in 42 in a Lakers win over Golden State in February.