New England Patriots' veteran quarterback Tom Brady and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James have exchanged tweets about their retirement from their respective sports. The 42-year-old Brady started the exchange by commenting “I’m playing until I can’t dunk anymore! @KingJames,” on Bleacher Report’s tweet about James’ earlier statement about his future. James then responded “Well I’m playing until I can’t throw TD passes anymore!

@TomBrady.”

Earlier, the 34-year-old James compared himself to Brady when asked about how long he plans to play in the NBA. "Me and Tom Brady are one and the same. We're going to play until we can't walk no more,” said James, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. In his 17th season in the league, James is considered the best player in the NBA right now. This season, he’s averaging 23.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and a career-high 11.1 assists for the Lakers, who are now leading the Western Conference with a 10-2 record following a hard-earned 99-97 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday. In his career, James has won three NBA titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.

Brady says he’s good friends with James

James’ statement drew a reaction from Brady during his Friday’s press conference ahead of their Sunday’s clash with the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady said that he’s been friends with James for a long time and has always admired his work on and off the basketball coach. “He's a great athlete, player," said Brady, who remains on top of his game at 42.

In nine games this season, Brady has thrown for 2,536 yards and 14 touchdowns and five picks this season for the Patriots, who still rule the AFC with an 8-1 record. Earlier, Brady’s personal trainer and business partner Alex Guerrero mentioned that the veteran signal caller plans to play until he’s 46 or 47 years old.

In a separate interview, Brady declared that he will play as long as he can as he tries to win his seventh Super Bowl trophy.

Brady discusses Myles Garrett incident

During his press conference, Brady also touched the incident in the dying seconds of the Cleveland Browns’ 21-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football (TNF). Browns' defensive end Myles Garrett drew an indefinite ban from the NFL for taking off the helmet of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and hitting him with it. According to Brady, head coach Bill Belichick usually uses those incidents as teaching moments to remind them not to lose their cool during games.

“He talks about not throwing punches, not touching the referees and staying on the sidelines,” said Brady.

While he admitted that football is an emotional game, Brady said it is important not to let emotions take over. In 2002, Brady said he drew his first and only unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pushing a Chicago Bears player. “Probably deserved a few more, but that was the only one I got called for,” said Brady.