Lakers star struggles at age 40 with worst game of season

On By Littum

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What, you thought LeBron James would average a triple-double in his 22nd NBA season, turning 40?

James’ longevity along with his 20th Back-to-back All-NBA selections last season perhaps set unrealistic expectations for what the old man can do, even as he continues to accomplish feats at this age that no other player has.

The topic of James’ “decline” reached its peak volume after that Los Angeles Lakers 109-80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

James scored just 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting, including 0-for-4 on 3-pointers, with eight rebounds, four assists and six turnovers and needed a free throw with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter to extending his streak of scoring at least 10 points to 1,243 games – a stretch that dates to January 6, 2007.

Father Time has caught up. Worst match of his career. Showing real signs of decline. All the modern surface level attractors. And ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins wrote on social media: “A car that runs perfectly can fall apart after it goes 100,000 miles. Age 40 can be his 100K. I mean, at least that’s what my grandpa told me when his Oldsmobile stopped running.”

James is in a shooting slump. No arguments for that. In his last six games, he is 43-for-108 from the field, including 3-for-30 on 3-pointers, and is averaging 16.8 points. He has missed 19 consecutive 3-pointers over the past four games.

It’s a brutal stretch. Can’t hide it, one of the worst shooting falls of his career.

“It’s the rhythm. I just feel out of rhythm the last couple, three or four games,” James told reporters.

The Lakers’ offense has not been good in general over the past six games – 2-4 with an offensive rating of 102.4 points per game. 100 possessions, barely better than the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans during that stretch. The whole team is fighting.

Six games is also not a decisive sample size to make definitive statements about the course of James’ season. Overall, James is averaging 22 points (which would be his lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2003-04) and is shooting 48.2% from the field and 34.5% on 3s, collecting 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game.

That’s not the most efficient offensive production. But do you know how many other players are averaging at least 22 points, 9.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds this season? One, and that is Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, including the winner of the award last season.

It’s not like James is the 12thth playing on the bench. Just four months ago, he was an integral part of USA Basketball’s gold medal team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, earning MVP. This season, James has 12 double-doubles and six triple-doubles (second most in the league) and became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double.

His skills didn’t just disappear in the last six games.

Let’s revisit Perkins’ (outdated) car analogy and apply a modern view. Cars last more than 100,000 miles these days and still perform well. They may just need a little extra maintenance.

And for James, that can mean that there are occasional replays. He would like to play all 82 games this season, but that may not be realistic. James has played in all 21 this season, but note that his dominant performance in Paris came on a schedule that didn’t include back-to-backs and rarely featured every other day.

For now, James isn’t thinking about taking a game off. But the Lakers, James and coach JJ Redick should consider what’s best for the 40-year-old to be at his best.

I hesitate to call this the beginning of a precipitous decline. Seems foolhardy. Of course, there will be a decline in his game, although it’s hard to fathom when you consider two decades of work. It’s impossible — as much as James staves off the inevitable — for him to play at the same level at 40 as he did at 35.

Let’s see if this six-game stretch turns into something bigger and more concerning before we send James off into the sunset.

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