Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James bowed out of the Western Conference finals on Monday night before hinting a 21st season in the NBA was no sure thing.

"I've got a lot to think about, to be honest," said James, repeating the sentence twice. "Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about."

James collected 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Game 4 but missed a turnaround jumper and had a layup blocked with a chance to tie the game on each of the final two possessions of the 113-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets.