During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone playfully trolled LeBron James.
Malone's comments came after he was asked if he thinks people will "respect" the Nuggets after the season they had. "Really good question, and speaking of the Lakers—I'm thinking about retiring." Malone later clarified that he was only "joking" and that he's "not going anywhere."
Malone's comments were in reference to James suggesting that he was considering retirement in a press conference following the Lakers being swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. "I've got a lot to think about, to be honest," James said at the time. "Just for me personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I got a lot to think about."
When asked to clarify his comments, James explained that he's thinking about whether he wants to "continue to play" in the NBA. "I got to think about it," he said when asked if he looking to "walk away."
James was widely criticized for trying to steal some of the shine from the Nuggets' win by slyly dominating the news cycle with his speculative comments.
The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship in franchise history on Monday, and Nikola Jokić—who averaged a triple-double in the series—was named Finals MVP.
