CLEVELAND, Ohio — It's been a long, fun journey for LeBron James, the kid from Akron, Ohio who grew up to be king. In his 23rd season in the NBA, the 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers forward was back in Cleveland on Wednesday night when he Lakers played the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Nothing is for certain, of course, but there sure seemed to be some finality to this visit. Was this it? LeBron's last appearance at Rocket Arena as a player?

It sure looked like it. Sure felt like it.

"Every road arena that I've been in, you know, I think I talked about that, that just trying to take everything in, not take the moments for granted," James said of his teary-eyed reaction to an in-game tribute video on the scoreboard during a timeout. "Because it could be, you know, obviously I haven't made a decision on the future, but very well could be [my last game here].

"No matter if it's here or, you know, going to Washington, playing the next game, the Garden, Barclays, you know, on this trip," James said. "Obviously it means a little bit more here for me personally because of, you know, grew up, 35 minutes south of here."

James has coming back as a visiting player the past eight years after leaving Cleveland for the second time to join the Lakers in 2018. He also played here for four years when he was a member of the Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014.

He had only 11 points, his lowest point total ever as a visitor in Cleveland. He's scored at least 20 points in every other games in Cleveland. He was just 3-for-10 from the field, and missed all three three-point attempts.

It was a rough night for the Lakers, who lost 129-99. It was James' worst loss in Cleveland as a visiting player. He is 10-3 all-time at Rocket Arena, but has now lost two straight. 

"I think there's certainly emotions always for him coming back here," Lakers coach J.J. Redick said. "You could see that being back here is very important to him. And you know, there's a human element to all of this."

James' mother Gloria was at the game to watch her son and grandson, Bronny James. The younger James got in the game in the fourth quarter. LeBron choked up a bit in his postgame press conference in thinking about that moment.

Gloria James was in a suite with friends and extended family to see the Lakers come to town.

"My mom gets to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time," said LeBron James, who presented his mom with his game-worn jersey at the end of the night. "I actually just started to think about how insane that is. Yeah, that's awesome."