On Monday night, after theLakerswere swept out of the Western Conference semifinals by the reigning championThunder,LeBron James walked up to the podium looking less like a basketball player and more like a man standing on the edge of a cliff, staring out into the fog.
LeBron’s future is in doubt. His contract with the Lakers is up, and he will officially become a free agent June 30. He essentiallyhas three options: return to the Lakers, sign with another team or become a free agent.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked about his future.
LeBron James arrives for what could be his final press conference. He said he’s going to take a few weeks before making any decisions on his future. “I don’t know what the future holds for me.”pic.twitter.com/YyxdqEHnMR
LeBron may not know what his future holds, but renowned body language expertJudi James(no relation) has a guess.
Judi is a leading communication and body language expert who regularly appears on CNN, BBC News, Sky News and more. She wascommissioned to studyLeBron’s body language in his six-minute postgame interview and identified a series of physical “tells” that may determine what he decides to do.
First, Judi’s biggest takeaway is retirement is something LeBron appears to be genuinely considering after completing his 23rd NBA season.
“In just over six minutes, LeBron performed nearly 20 acts of sucking his lips inward,” the body language expert observed. “That’s often associated with regret, restraint or self-soothing.”
Judi watched the news conference on mute several times before turning on the sound. That allowed her to study LeBron’s body language without context of what he was talking about.
“Watching this interview on mute, there are gestures that suggest firstly deep regret and something [bordering] on sorrow and secondly conflicted thinking,” Judi said.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
