We may not know in the moment when LeBron James plays his last NBA game, for this reason

Most NBA fans know that LeBron James' retirement is imminent, despite it feeling like for years like he wasn't close to actually stepping away from basketball.

Most accomplished players give fans and their team a heads up that they are retiring, before their final season, so everyone knows this is the last chance they have to see the player before their career ends.

We might expect that from LeBron, but he might be thinking of doing the opposite for a very specific reason.

When will we know that LeBron James is retiring?

NBA reporter Dave McMenamin reported LeBron being opposed to a retirement tour, saying, “That could bring some negative with it if his body doesn’t cooperate, he goes to a city, everybody buys tickets, and he is unable to play. He doesn’t want that disappointment following him”(via @mcten and @Fullcourtpass).

Whether LeBron has played in a game or not over the past few seasons, he's practically been listed as questionable for most of those games, and has been playing fewer games and minutes as he's gotten older.

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This is clearly done for a reason, as LeBron is trying to still play at a high level and wants to be on the court healthy for the important stages of the season.

Whenever LeBron and the Lakers are in town, tickets are pricey no matter where the game is.

LeBron recognizes that he wouldn't want to give false hope to fans who buy tickets and find out he isn't playing at the last minute.

There are no reports that LeBron will just call it a career after a season ends, but that does seem to line up with this thought process, since fans wouldn't know for sure that he would be playing his final season when he does.

For that reason, we likely won't know that LeBron is playing his last game when it happens, unless we speculate based on his situation that it's bound to happen.

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