LOS ANGELES — It seems strange to talk about retirement with a man who just had three straight triple-doubles and is playing at an All-NBA level.

However, time is always part of the story with LeBron James – those three consecutive triple-doubles set a record for the oldest player to accomplish the featdoing so at age 39. This broke LeBron’s old record set at 34. Next month, LeBron turns 40, so the question of how much longer he can do this — or how long he wants to do it — has arisen.

“It’s the spirit,” LeBron said of what will determine when he hangs up his Nikes. “Wherever my mind is, that’s how the rest of my body is going to go, no matter what.” I’m not going to play for very long, to be completely honest. One year, two years, whatever the case. I said the other night that I wouldn’t play until the wheels fell off. I’m not.

“I’m not going to be that guy. I’m not going to be the guy that disrespects the game because I just want to be on the field.

LeBron echoes what he said previously and what the handful of great athletes who have a choice when leaving the game have long said (most professional athletes have that choice to leave when teams don’t not give them another contract despite the player wanting to continue). It’s not the body – especially in LeBron’s case where he took exceptional care of his – it’s when the player no longer has the desire to do the work necessary to prepare his body to play. This doesn’t mean the player doesn’t want to continue playing, but they don’t want to do what needs to be done to continue playing at that level.

LeBron will come to the end of this season, whenever it will be for the Lakers, sit back and think, then make his call. Does he want to do this for season 23? The Lakers will gladly pay him if he wants to return.

The question is: when does his mind tell him he doesn’t want to anymore? LeBron doesn’t know when it will happen, but he feels it’s coming.