How many years does Lebron have before he begins to decline?

[D.Brasco]

^^^^
Do people think there is some chip planted in NBA players body that at X minutes they decline. I'm saying don't base lebron's decline on when oscar robertson or larry bird did. It's dumb and doesn't take into account the difference in individual players body's and time at which they're playing.

No. We base it on time. You know, the thing that snatches the athletic ability from all players. But again, I understand you think LeBron is a comic book character, and maintains control over the fabric of time.

So you agree with the OP that at x amount of minutes lebron will automatically decline? Did you even read what I said? I mentioned nothing about lebron never declining but i'm not like the OP saying at exactly 5.4 seasons from now at exactly 42 500 minutes lebron will decline. We don't know. All i'm saying is lebron is physically different than players he listed and he also has the benefit of modern treatmaent/training resources that players 20-40 years ago didn't have.

[Earl Sweatshirt]

^^^^
Do people think there is some chip planted in NBA players body that at X minutes they decline. I'm saying don't base lebron's decline on when oscar robertson or larry bird did. It's dumb and doesn't take into account the difference in individual players body's and time at which they're playing.

No. We base it on time. You know, the thing that snatches the athletic ability from all players. But again, I understand you think LeBron is a comic book character, and maintains control over the fabric of time.

So you agree with the OP that at x amount of minutes lebron will automatically decline? Did you even read what I said? I mentioned nothing about lebron never declining but i'm not like the OP saying at exactly 5.4 seasons from now at exactly 42 500 minutes lebron will decline. We don't know. All i'm saying is lebron is physically different than players he listed and he also has the benefit of modern treatmaent/training resources that players 20-40 years ago didn't have.

Minutes played have absolutely no affect on the body. All that punishment to the knees and lower back will prove to be no obstacle to the great LeBron James. The best athlete the world has ever known. Also, age and minutes played have no correlation. Plenty of 24 year old NBA players have logged 40,000 minutes.

[D.Brasco]

Minutes played have absolutely no affect on the body. All that punishment to the knees and lower back will prove to be no obstacle to the great LeBron James. The best athlete the world has ever known. Also, age and minutes played have no correlation. Plenty of 24 year old NBA players have logged 40,000 minutes.

Alright this is the last response because i'm starting to suspect your just trying to troll me now. Stop putting words in my mouth i never said lebron won't decline nor will his minutes not add up. i don't even know if you read what the OP wrote or just like responding to me. The OP is trying to come up with the precise time lebron will decline, now follow me here precise time.

He's saying lebron will no longer be dominant at 31 or in 4 seasons etc. based on players who's bodies were/are nothing like lebron's and played 10-20-40 years before him. I'm saying we don't know, the reason lebron has played so many mins at a young age is because no players before him was capable of putting up minutes like him at that age. He is literally in uncharted territory as a player. But go ahead use Larry bird's career trajectory to base Lebron's decline. LeBron will decline but i don't agree with the OP on when that will be none of us know.

[Earl Sweatshirt]

Minutes played have absolutely no affect on the body. All that punishment to the knees and lower back will prove to be no obstacle to the great LeBron James. The best athlete the world has ever known. Also, age and minutes played have no correlation. Plenty of 24 year old NBA players have logged 40,000 minutes.

Alright this is the last response because i'm starting to suspect your just trying to troll me now. Stop putting words in my mouth i never said lebron won't decline nor will his minutes not add up. i don't even know if you read what the OP wrote or just like responding to me. The OP is trying to come up with the precise time lebron will decline, now follow me here precise time.

He's saying lebron will no longer be dominant at 31 or in 4 seasons etc. based on players who's bodies were/are nothing like lebron's and played 10-20-40 years before him. I'm saying we don't know, the reason lebron has played so many mins at a young age is because no players before him was capable of putting up minutes like him at that age. He is literally in uncharted territory as a player. But go ahead use Larry bird's career trajectory to base Lebron's decline. LeBron will decline but i don't agree with the OP on when that will be none of us know.

Actually we do know. Because all players, across all athletically dependent sports, begin to decline into their thirties. This isn't rocket science. No, we don't know the exact date/minutes/age, but based on a very extensive history of professional sports, it isn't exactly a leap to say he wont be as good at 31, as he is at 26, due to the deterioration of his body.

[andyo]

Some of the hate on Lebron is ridiculous. Lebron's body has fallen off? C'mon, he's not the most likeable guy but that's just pure hater talk. It's hard to say exactly when he will begin falling off, I don't think I've ever seen an athlete in any sport like him. He weighs more than Dwight Howard yet seems like he has thrice the body control, hang time, etc. That must take a toll on his body eventually.

My guess is he will begin declining after 29/30. By declining, I mean starting to lose his explosiveness, etc, as we have seen from Kobe over the last 4-5 years.

[Earl Sweatshirt]

Some of the hate on Lebron is ridiculous. Lebron's body has fallen off? C'mon, he's not the most likeable guy but that's just pure hater talk. It's hard to say exactly when he will begin falling off, I don't think I've ever seen an athlete in any sport like him. He weighs more than Dwight Howard yet seems like he has thrice the body control, hang time, etc. That must take a toll on his body eventually.

My guess is he will begin declining after 29/30. By declining, I mean starting to lose his explosiveness, etc, as we have seen from Kobe over the last 4-5 years.

LeBron weighs more than Dwight Howard? Body control? And there's plenty of athletes out there superior to LeBron James. All this "never seen an athlete", "once in a generation type of athlete" is complete and utter nonsense.

Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are once in a generation type of athletes.

[toodles23]

Some of the hate on Lebron is ridiculous. Lebron's body has fallen off? C'mon, he's not the most likeable guy but that's just pure hater talk. It's hard to say exactly when he will begin falling off, I don't think I've ever seen an athlete in any sport like him. He weighs more than Dwight Howard yet seems like he has thrice the body control, hang time, etc. That must take a toll on his body eventually.

My guess is he will begin declining after 29/30. By declining, I mean starting to lose his explosiveness, etc, as we have seen from Kobe over the last 4-5 years.

I've had this conversation a lot on this board lately so I'll try to keep this short, but it's obvious he's lost some athleticism - he's probably like 80-85% the athlete he was in Cleveland. The only two people in this thread who have said he's lost athleticism (me and LuckedO) are Lebron fans, btw.

[nyrangers08]

Some of the hate on Lebron is ridiculous. Lebron's body has fallen off? C'mon, he's not the most likeable guy but that's just pure hater talk. It's hard to say exactly when he will begin falling off, I don't think I've ever seen an athlete in any sport like him. He weighs more than Dwight Howard yet seems like he has thrice the body control, hang time, etc. That must take a toll on his body eventually.

My guess is he will begin declining after 29/30. By declining, I mean starting to lose his explosiveness, etc, as we have seen from Kobe over the last 4-5 years.

I've had this conversation a lot on this board lately so I'll try to keep this short, but it's obvious he's lost some athleticism - he's probably like 80-85% the athlete he was in Cleveland. The only two people in this thread who have said he's lost athleticism (me and LuckedO) are Lebron fans, btw.

But there is no concrete proof of this. He is working way harder on the defensive end this year and playing the complete second half in every single playoff game. Maybe he is just turning the jumping and the speed down a notch so he doesn't tire out.

I'm not saying he's better defensively, I'm saying he's working harder and has much more impressive stamina. The Heat's defensive system requires way more work than the Cavaliers' system of last season; even though the Cavaliers' defensive philosophy was also effective, it's just a different style. The Heat trap and hedge every single pick and roll and do a lot of helping, doubling, and then sprinting to close out on shooters. Even Wade doesn't play the full 24 minutes of the second half.

[toodles23]

But there is no concrete proof of this. He is working way harder on the defensive end this year and playing the complete second half in every single playoff game. Maybe he is just turning the jumping and the speed down a notch so he doesn't tire out.

I'm not saying he's better defensively, I'm saying he's working harder and has much more impressive stamina. The Heat's defensive system requires way more work than the Cavaliers' system of last season; even though the Cavaliers' defensive philosophy was also effective, it's just a different style. The Heat trap and hedge every single pick and roll and do a lot of helping, doubling, and then sprinting to close out on shooters. Even Wade doesn't play the full 24 minutes of the second half.

I don't if you can "prove" something like this, but just watching the games it's obvious. He's still got ridiculous stamina, that hasn't changed (he played 47 mpg in the '06 playoffs and 45 mpg in the '07 playoffs) but his leaping ability, explosion and quickness are not what they used to be. It's been like this the whole season, not just in the playoffs. There have been plenty of times this season when he's clearly trying to go all out but doesn't have the athleticism to pull it off.

As I said, just watch a game from his Cleveland days (or even just highlights of a game) and you'll notice the difference.

[Sky_Knicks]

Weighs more than Dwight? Lol. I don't understand why people think Lebron weighs 270. ( I even saw a poster on here say he's 300 pounds ) Hes like 250.

[Tuff Gong]

With the way he's improved his jumper and as good as he is as a passer and defender.... I think he could last a bit longer than Kobe.

[RaisingArizona]

5-6 years

[Ayt]

Weighs more than Dwight? Lol. I don't understand why people think Lebron weighs 270. ( I even saw a poster on here say he's 300 pounds ) Hes like 250.

He was 245 when he entered the league. Just a hunch, but I think he has gained more than 5 pounds since that time.

[andyo]

Weighs more than Dwight? Lol. I don't understand why people think Lebron weighs 270. ( I even saw a poster on here say he's 300 pounds ) Hes like 250.

Lebron is about 250-265. Dwight is about the same. Some list Lebron as heavier, some list Dwight as heavier. But the point remains that they are around the same weight. What's your point?

[arifgokcen]

Weighs more than Dwight? Lol. I don't understand why people think Lebron weighs 270. ( I even saw a poster on here say he's 300 pounds ) Hes like 250.

250 you serious.
Let me put it this way back in 2008-2009 season.Cavs players said he was the heaviest dude in the locker room.Z was around 260-265lbs.Jason Kidd said he was 265lbs when he was with team USA.He clearly weighs more than that now he is bigger than ever.Actually i dont remember but one other player said he was 273lbs.He definitely weighs more than 270lbs thats for sure.When he was a rookie.He weighed 245lbs.You really think he has gained only 5 pounds.BTW look at lebron vs dwight pictures.Howards shoulders are bigger but lebron's other body parts is bigger.They dont have that much of a height difference.I dont know how much howards weighs i doubt he weighs more than 280lbs

[big_ticket]

bron needs to lose some weight,.probably after 6 years more,..

[JoseRizal]

Even if LeBron declines physically, he's still a very tall and wide player. Should he develop a back to the basket, inside offensive post moves, he'll still be very effective...

[ThirdMan]

Lebron is huge and he's such a high flier. Him and Blake are freaks of nature and are not made to jump like that. If your a Lebron fan you have to worried about all that wear and tear on his knees. Can't compare to guys like MJ or Kobe because Lebron is so much heavier than they are. Sports medicine has come along way but they're not miracle workers after a while that much stress is going to cause a lot of damage.

[kingscourt]

Whats the pt of this? Lebron is still going to be one of the best of all time. He will likely play longer than Jordan. Ppl less atheltic than him like kobe still get it done. Jordan lost his athelticism and still averaged his numbers and played well.

[GrandTheftRondo]

2-3 years before his athleticism isn't extremely explosive anymore.