How many years of prime Lebron do you think he has in him

Mofoo · Post #21 » by **Mofoo** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 11:16 am

Question was how many more years Levron can be the best player in the league (Or lets say undisputed top-5). That I still think 4 (+/-1) years. Injuries will impact too.

Some posters are answering how long Lebron can contribute which is a different question and obviously a different answer will follow. If he does not get a career ending injury earlier, I am sure he will play 9 (+/-1) more years.

Calves_fan · Post #22 » by **Calves_fan** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:11 pm

I'll say four years. He's played heavy minutes since coming into the league at 18, comparing his career span to Jordan/Malone or even Kobe (low minutes first few years) isn't the best comparison.

A player can only log x amount of minutes before their body breaks down, hopefully Lebron can remain elite well into his 30s.

ixxa · Post #23 » by **ixxa** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:55 pm

He is dealing with serious back spasm which basically ended Larry Bird's career. And due to lack of interior presence and small ball, he has to gain some weight to play 4, which makes him lose some agility.

That is one of the main reasons he seemed to gas out quite often last season. I've followed him since 2008, he used to have limitless stamina, can play lock down defense on some incredible athletic guards (D Rose) and still carry huge loads on the offensive end at the same time.

I think due to injures and huge mileages, his physical prime is about to end. One sign is his signature move, chase down block is barely seen now.

He is still freaking athletic, but no where near his Cavalier days. I believe he himself is quite aware of this, so he tries his best to preserve his body. good thing is his jump shots is getting better each year and will keep getting better, and his game does not rely that much on pure athleticism.

antistrat · Post #24 » by **antistrat** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 8:10 pm

ixxa wrote:He is dealing with serious back spasm which basically ended Larry Bird's career. And due to lack of interior presence and small ball, he has to gain some weight to play 4, which makes him lose some agility.

That is one of the main reasons he seemed to gas out quite often last season. I've followed him since 2008, he used to have limitless stamina, can play lock down defense on some incredible athletic guards (D Rose) and still carry huge loads on the offensive end at the same time.

I think due to injures and huge mileages, his physical prime is about to end. One sign is his signature move, chase down block is barely seen now.

He is still freaking athletic, but no where near his Cavalier days. I believe he himself is quite aware of this, so he tries his best to preserve his body. good thing is his jump shots is getting better each year and will keep getting better, and his game does not rely that much on pure athleticism.

He gassed out in his Cavs days too. People referred to it as something else in those days tho. That's his play style doing that to him... he has trouble reigning himself in sometimes when he's excited.

LeBron is as fast, and can jump as high as he always has. I don't recall him jumping clear over dudes in Cleveland, but he made it just about a yearly occurrence in Miami. The big difference is he's a lot stronger now.

Obviously we'll see his athleticism fade probably starting at age 32... but I think he'll be like Dr. J i.e. still able to dunk from the free throw line at age 35. Some guys are just different... Bron clearly seems to be one of those aliens.

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Mr Loggins · Post #25 » by **Mr Loggins** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:08 am

3-4 more peak years, though Butthurt heat fans think they allready used him up though :

GameTime_3 wrote:
BosBorgon wrote:
GameTime_3 wrote:I'm enjoying all the ESPN coverage. I got no ill feelings toward LeBron. For 4 years, we had ESPN reporting on everything Miami and we were the center of the basketball world with the BIG 3. I feel like a guy that just ran into an ex that you took her virginity. YEA! I said it! LeBron maybe from Cleveland and he maybe there but when people show HIGHLIGHTS and talk about WINNING, they can only talk about Miami. So yea, Cleveland enjoy LeBron but remember this...He isn't as pure as he once was, he was ours, we used him for 4 years and now you got him back! ahahhahaha

Rather take Bron back than getting some frat house pass around (Deng)

I'm sure you rather post on RGM instead of being suspended but that not how it always plays out. We had LeBron and we got the best out of him. Thanks for playing the game!!!

OrlandoMagic · Post #26 » by **OrlandoMagic** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:33 am

I'd say give him three years before he starts to decline. And that's only due to how many minutes he has played every season, including all the playoff games over the years. He has basically played an extra season within his time already played, compared to the average player in the league.

Dupp · Post #27 » by **Dupp** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 1:43 pm

Lebrons only had 2 season in his career he didn't get better. 2011 and last season, so its very plausible he started a very minor decline. We'll see how he plays this season.

In saying that he will still be super elite for at least 3-4 years and really really good for any years after that.

E-Z · Post #28 » by **E-Z** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 6:22 pm

He looked disengaged defensively last season. Sometimes late in games, he'll settle for a few too many jump-shots as well. I don't think his skill is diminishing, but his level of stamina might be tapering off due to the amount of miles placed on his body.

antistrat · Post #29 » by **antistrat** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:05 pm

Dupp wrote:Lebrons only had 2 season in his career he didn't get better. 2011 and last season, so its very plausible he started a very minor decline. We'll see how he plays this season.

In saying that he will still be super elite for at least 3-4 years and really really good for any years after that.

He didn't get better in 2007 either.

Either way, LeBron was tremendous last year - set career highs in FG%, TS% and eFG% - and became the first player in history to make at least 110 threes while shooting over 55% from the field. Unreal stuff.

I think the decline in some of LeBron's numbers last year had a lot to do with his teammates struggles. For example, his shooters last year just weren't as accurate from three - Ray Allen dropped from 42% to 38%, Shane Battier dropped from 43% to 35% and Mario Chalmers dropped from 41% to 39% - so that affected his assist totals, reducing his overall ratings - whether PER or Win Share - through no fault of his own.

You could say the same about LeBron's defensive ratings - since those are largely reliant on team defensive efficiency.

L&H_05 · Post #30 » by **L&H_05** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 11:33 pm

LeBron has a Kyrie Irving who isn't even in his prime yet-- nobody knows how dominant Kyrie can be with someone like LeBron commanding so much attention...

willywazza · Post #31 » by **willywazza** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 1:26 am

He has 3-4 years playing at such a high, MVP level but I believe he will be an impact player for at least a decade.

His game will become more savvy and finesse-oriented as he ages, allowing him to stay healthy and extend his career well into his late 30s. I hope he sticks around until he is 40.

SwishMaster90 · Post #32 » by **SwishMaster90** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:31 am

I believe he has about 3 years left in his prime as long as his legs are good. After that, he will skill his game in a way that will prolong his career for another 4-5. My thoughts.

thefloydian · Post #33 » by **thefloydian** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:51 pm

2.

But he'll still be the best player in the league deep into his decline.

Rapz4life1 · Post #34 » by **Rapz4life1** » Sat Aug 2, 2014 9:47 pm

He's got millions of miles on him. He looks really tired. works to much and to hard to much pressure and stress been on him and still is. I would say about 3 years. I think he will go down faster than most expect unless he really takes lot of rest somehow during offseason and throughout the regular season.

Dupp · Post #35 » by **Dupp** » Sun Aug 3, 2014 4:27 am

I doubt he has a fast decline but I wouldn't be surprised if KD has overtaken him. ( I thought Durant was better last season including playoffs).

legendO_Kiko · Post #36 » by **legendO_Kiko** » Sun Aug 3, 2014 4:51 am

Dupp wrote:I doubt he has a fast decline but I wouldn't be surprised if KD has overtaken him. ( I thought Durant was better last season including playoffs).

It's tough because kd isn't exactly the better scorer, the fg%'s are the proof. But he is better from the outside so it'll be fun to see how lebrons career translates as he loses that explosiveness. I think you'll see his ppg dip to around 14-15 per but his assists per will jump up to around ten. He'll be passing out of the doubles in the post a lot more bc he will still be strong as he looses his quickness. A lot of triple doubles or near triple dubs, like 10,10,10 followed by a 30 point game when people won't double down fast enough.

Usually it's rough watching athletic guys age like iverson, Jason Richardson, amare. But Lebron is so smart and is so many steps ahead even, if he isn't the MVP scoring almost 30 a game his fingerprints will be all over every game he is in.

But to answer the question I think 3 more years of 24/25+ per game.

Dupp · Post #37 » by **Dupp** » Sun Aug 3, 2014 4:57 am

I disagree about the scoring part. Durant is the only guy better than lebron.

johnnyballgame · Post #38 » by **johnnyballgame** » Sun Aug 3, 2014 5:22 am

legendO_Kiko wrote:
Dupp wrote:I doubt he has a fast decline but I wouldn't be surprised if KD has overtaken him. ( I thought Durant was better last season including playoffs).

It's tough because kd isn't exactly the better scorer, the fg%'s are the proof. But he is better from the outside so it'll be fun to see how lebrons career translates as he loses that explosiveness. I think you'll see his ppg dip to around 14-15 per but his assists per will jump up to around ten. He'll be passing out of the doubles in the post a lot more bc he will still be strong as he looses his quickness. A lot of triple doubles or near triple dubs, like 10,10,10 followed by a 30 point game when people won't double down fast enough.

Usually it's rough watching athletic guys age like iverson, Jason Richardson, amare. But Lebron is so smart and is so many steps ahead even, if he isn't the MVP scoring almost 30 a game his fingerprints will be all over every game he is in.

But to answer the question I think 3 more years of 24/25+ per game.

Just my opinion, but I don't see LeBron playing when he's only averaging 14. I think he'll leave gracefully before he drops past 16 or so. Lebron has his own loftier goals and cares tons about his image. He's a family man and a business mogul who won't need the money. I don't see him turning into the current version of Steve Nash.

But his game has become so complete and so versatile he'll be prime for another 4 years and very very good for 6-7 more.

crazy_me_87 · Post #39 » by **crazy_me_87** » Sun Aug 3, 2014 9:32 am

Rapz4life1 wrote:He's got millions of miles on him. He looks really tired. works to much and to hard to much pressure and stress been on him and still is. I would say about 3 years. I think he will go down faster than most expect unless he really takes lot of rest somehow during offseason and throughout the regular season.

he looked tired last year because after 3 finals trips and a Olympic Games trip he had to carry the Heat without DWade for over a 3rd of the season

he had to do everything to get them to the finals again because Wade broke and the rest of the role players did kinda too(battier their main wing defender for example was useless)

i actually think playing with younger co stars will prolong his prime if anything

ballfan5 · Post #40 » by **ballfan5** » Mon Aug 4, 2014 4:25 pm

I think in about 3 more years we wont be seeing any of the flashy dunks anymore. Lets remember that Lebron is one of the most efficient players in the game. He has a very good jumpshot and has really worked that low post game. Secondly he is surrounding himself with rising stars that are young. When he is 34 Kyrie will be 26 and Love will be 29. Lebron can be the third option at that point and be very effective facilitating and hitting open jump shots. Lebron was 40% from 3pt range last year as the primary scorer. He would probably be 45% if he were the 3rd option where Kyrie and Love were the ones getting double teamed. Thats my way of saying he will be the top for 3 years and then his game will evolve and he will still be very effective for another 3 years. Barring any injuries Lebron will be an all star every year until 2020.

How many years will Lebron be on the top of his game