CNN
—
LeBron James announced on Wednesday that he’s taking a break from social media.
The Los Angeles Lakers star made the announcement on his X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram accounts, writing: “Getting off social media for the time being. Y’all take care.”
Prior to that, James had shared a post from Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant’s business manager, which questioned why the media was covering sports through “negative takes.”
Kleiman wrote: “We can all acknowledge that sports is the last part of society that universally brings people together. So why can’t the coverage do the same? It’s only click bait when you say it.
“When the platform is so big, you can make the change and allow us all an escape from real life negativity. I for one find it all a waste of breath.”
Earlier this week, James, the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer, described how “everybody on the internet called me a liar all the time” for praising rookie Dalton Knecht’s college performances at Tennessee.
Knecht scored a career-high 37 points in the Lakers’ 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, tying the NBA rookie record of nine three-pointers in a single game.
It is unclear when James will return to social media.
Last week, the 39-year-old hinted at his retirement in the near future, telling reporters that he’s “not going to play that much longer, to be completely honest. I don’t know how many years that is. If it’s one year or two years, whatever the case may be.”
Despite turning 40 next month, James is still among the best players in the league, averaging 23.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 9.4 assists so far this season.