The main question that surrounds ‘King James’ as he ages is; how much longer can he keep his throne? With rival superstars such as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant putting in their claims for being the leagues best, both of whom are significantly younger than James who turns 32 in December, is it possible for him to keep his title as the best player in basketball for much longer?
Every player moves through an arc in their career, the rise during their early years, their prime in their late twenties and from then on a steady decrease in performance. However LeBron, being the transcendent player of a generation that he is, did not appear to get the memo, as at age 31 in these last NBA finals he put up monster numbers showing everyone that he is the ultimate difference maker in any game.
At first glance it may appear as though his performance is declining as, since his return to Cleveland, his scoring is at a career low since his rookie season averaging 25.3 points per game, along with a drop off in his field goal % since his ‘prime years’ in Miami. However this slight fall in his statistics is likely due to his minutes per game moving down to a career low at 35.6 per game. Despite this he is still just as efficient as his younger self, averaging the exact same points per 36 minutes (25.5) as his MVP season in 2012/13. This decrease in minutes could be argued as, not being a sign of LeBron’s inability to play 48 minutes a night but his choice as he has been quoted as saying “I want to look after my body and when the big moments come, I’ll be on the court”. This simply shows his desire to continue playing at the highest level and chase “the ghost that played in Chicago”.
James’ athleticism still remains at an elite level, greatly displayed by his iconic chase down block on Andre Iguodala towards the end of game seven in the 2016 finals. Although, even when his explosiveness does start to fade, that is no guarantee of him becoming any less effective. He still retains a unique passing ability with his incredible court vision and his basketball IQ is only going to increase with age. If he is able to rediscover his shooting touch from his time in Miami at 41.1 percent from mid-range and 36.9 percent from downtown, he will not need to rely on getting to the hoop quite as much, enabling James to retain his elite level of play for years to come.
Will LeBron James be able to stay at the top of the NBA pile until he’s 40, who knows? But one thing is for sure. If you told him he couldn’t do it, he would do everything humanly possible to prove you wrong.
HoopsTunedIn 