We may not know in the moment when LeBron James plays his last NBA game, for this reason originally appeared on The Sporting News. 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. 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? 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.