RealGM

Curious how long this board things we will have Lebron in his prime. Note this is not a "He's gonna leave" poll, this is a "how long will he be the top player in the game" poll. Thanks for your input.

I say 3-4 because he can slide to Power Forward if he loses a bit of speed.

I would say 4-5 years. He has a good shot and skill, he doesn't rely 100% on his athleticism like some guys.
Skill players can play at a high level a pretty long time. Hopefully he doesn't end up like KG in Brooklyn.

Think about LeBron's game and how it's evolved. He no longer relies on his athleticism as much as he did when he was in Cleveland the first time. He posts up a lot more. Uses his size a lot more. He should be able to stay very productive for at least the next 5 years if he keeps going in that direction, with an improved outside shot, and relying more and more on man-strength.

His game should age better than Kobe and Jordan's, just because he's bigger - he has the option to go Karl Malone as he ages, which they didn't. Malone won MVP at age 35. Had a PER of 27.1 at age 36, which is the highest PER mark of anyone 36 or older according to Basketball-Reference. LeBron can realistically aspire to that.

He is already declining or he was just REALLY worn out last year. That being said, his "post-prime game" is still the best game in the league. Pairing this fact with how high his BBIQ is, I think you're getting (if he doesn't leave) around 4-5 years of the best player in the world.

OT: I don't actually know why I'm posting here, but eh. Just finally decided to lurk all the forums since nothing is happening. Cheers.

6-7

I think he can average 25/7/6 for the next 3 years. After that his stats will go slowly down as he shouldn't be playing 35-36 mpg anymore.

dancing2thabeet wrote:He is already declining or he was just REALLY worn out last year. That being said, his "post-prime game" is still the best game in the league. Pairing this fact with how high his BBIQ is, I think you're getting (if he doesn't leave) around 4-5 years of the best player in the world.

OT: I don't actually know why I'm posting here, but eh. Just finally decided to lurk all the forums since nothing is happening. Cheers.

Or the more likley, he couldn't wait to leave miami like his last year in Cleveland in the playoffs

dancing2thabeet wrote:He is already declining or he was just REALLY worn out last year.

Dude is not already declining at age 28-29 (his ages last season).

But what he eventually loses from his physical side he can make up on the intellectual side. You know, Phil Jackson and Bill Simmons have both said that MJ was better after he came back starting in 1995-1996. He was 32, a step slower, he wasn't dunking on people like he used to - but he was smarter, more experienced, and more mature, meaning that he was a better teammate during his 2nd three peat. 72-10.

LeBron last season was absolutely incredible. I mean he was the first player in history to make 100 threes and also shoot .567 from the field. That's insane.

About 5 or 6--- when he decides he wants to dominate the post, we will have probably the best PF in the league IMO...

LeBron's game is not aging...He'll be just as effective at 33 or 34, maybe even better ?? He won't be at such a ridiculous decline like Wade.. Wade would have probably been forced to retire if LeBron never went there lol..

L&H_05 wrote:About 5 or 6--- when he decides he wants to dominate the post, we will have probably the best PF in the league IMO...

LeBron's game is not aging...He'll be just as effective at 33 or 34, maybe even better ?? He won't be at such a ridiculous decline like Wade.. Wade would have probably been forced to retire if LeBron never went there lol..

Pretty much this.

dancing2thabeet wrote:He is already declining or he was just REALLY worn out last year. That being said, his "post-prime game" is still the best game in the league. Pairing this fact with how high his BBIQ is, I think you're getting (if he doesn't leave) around 4-5 years of the best player in the world.

OT: I don't actually know why I'm posting here, but eh. Just finally decided to lurk all the forums since nothing is happening. Cheers.

I don't think he showed any decline last year, was just taking it easy during RS, which is understandable.

Chill guys, I didn't say he will just fall off the cliff. Let's try this again.

He will still be the best player in the league for the years to come, but his absolute best is behind him. And that's what decline means. He will become even better and more efficient in select parts of his game, but he will never be all over the place again on a regular basis. Is that better or worse? Depends on the supporting cast I guess. He still has at least 4-5 amazing years in him followed by quite a few very good. Barring injury, he will age way better than MJ and that says a lot about him.

i think the point is many people fear(we) or hope(everyone else) that he will age like Steve Francis,Dwyane Wade or someone like that

he wont

sure his athletism will decrease at some point

but he is still totally underrated in terms of BBIQ and skills

-he has a better jumpshot than Kobe or Jordan ever had and still people say he wont age as well
-he can be the best Post Player in the Leauge if he decides to
-he will never lose his strenght so he will still bully people around the rim until he retires
-he will never lose his passing

i think he has 4 or 5 absolute peak years left

but he has a good shot at still being the best player in the NBA 2 or even 3 years after that

antistrat wrote:

dancing2thabeet wrote:He is already declining or he was just REALLY worn out last year.

Dude is not already declining at age 28-29 (his ages last season).

Guys who were drafted out of high school tend to decline at a younger age due to wear and tear, especially if they've been constant playoff participants, and playing in international competition. On top of all that, Lebron's built like a power forward, and with a few rare exceptions (Karl Malone), guys with a heavy build lose a lot of their explosiveness around 30 or so due to the constant pounding that their joints take. With his passing and improved jumper, James should play well into his 30s, but I don't think you'll be seeing his current playstyle (which is already changing, imo) for too much longer.

4 (+/-1)

Muggsy Bogues wrote:

antistrat wrote:

dancing2thabeet wrote:He is already declining or he was just REALLY worn out last year.

Dude is not already declining at age 28-29 (his ages last season).

Guys who were drafted out of high school tend to decline at a younger age due to wear and tear, especially if they've been constant playoff participants, and playing in international competition. On top of all that, Lebron's built like a power forward, and with a few rare exceptions (Karl Malone), guys with a heavy build lose a lot of their explosiveness around 30 or so due to the constant pounding that their joints take. With his passing and improved jumper, James should play well into his 30s, but I don't think you'll be seeing his current playstyle (which is already changing, imo) for too much longer.

that might be the case

meaning Lebron changing his game

but that doesnt mean "declince"

one could argue that post 30 Michael Jordan and post 30 Kobe Bryant and post 30 Karl Malone are even better than their pre 30 counterparts^^

and i could list many more of the greats

Lebron is skilled enough and by far intelligent and hard working enough to adapt his game year by year
so i am certain we will see a changed Lebron in 3 or 4 years

but that will probably still be the best player in the world

just let me ask anyone who doubts Lebron: who would you rather have?

26 year old Kobe or 32? (scoring champ at 26.. or NBA Champ at 32)
25 yo MJ or 35 yo? (25 is the looser.. the scorer who cant win.. 35 is the Goat still dominating to his 6th ring)

so.. yeah sure all players age.. but the ones with amazing BBIQ remold their games that it doesnt matter much

Well regardless of what people think LeBron has actually gotten more athletic since his first year In Miami as he has been steadily shedding weight after he stupidly over bulked and was half the athlete he was in Cleveland

He looked more tired last year because of the having 28 games of no wade and assuming even more of the team's responsibilities

Either way With love or wiggins

LeBron won't have to worry about being the exclusive ball handler and either the leading rebounder or only plus defender


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

i think 3years left for him,he can be a mailman type at the end of his career,face up and backdown shots.

antistrat wrote:Think about LeBron's game and how it's evolved. He no longer relies on his athleticism as much as he did when he was in Cleveland the first time. He posts up a lot more. Uses his size a lot more. He should be able to stay very productive for at least the next 5 years if he keeps going in that direction, with an improved outside shot, and relying more and more on man-strength.

His game should age better than Kobe and Jordan's, just because he's bigger - he has the option to go Karl Malone as he ages, which they didn't. Malone won MVP at age 35. Had a PER of 27.1 at age 36, which is the highest PER mark of anyone 36 or older according to Basketball-Reference. LeBron can realistically aspire to that.

I agree with this. But also, I look at Magic Johnson... who took about 5 years off and came back briefly in 1996 as a 36 year old player. He averaged 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds on 46%/38%/86% shooting in 29.9MPG. Pretty impressive considering he had 5 years of rust to work off. Remember they were calling him "Buff Johnson" during that brief comeback:



Side note: Anabolic steroids are an effective part of treatment for H.I.V... especially in the mid-90s. It was used to prevent weight loss and replace testosterone. Nobody will ever outright say it, but there's about a 90% chance that Magic Johnson was roiding in the NBA. I mean... certainly can't hold that against him or anything. I'm certainly not suggesting it was a "bad" thing. It's just something random I've never seen mentioned before.

LeBron came into the league with expectations that he'd be the next Magic Johnson. He's a basketball genius with incredible court vision. Because of his unreal athleticism, he evolved more into the superstar scorer Jordan mold. As he ages, he could certainly adjust his game into being some kind of hybrid of Malone, Magic Johnson and Portland-era Scottie Pippen (11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.6 steals at age 36). As long as he stays healthy, I could realistically see LeBron averaging something like 16 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds in his late 30s as a point power forward. Also realize that 7 years from now sports medicine will have progressed even further. We're already seeing players extending the length of their careers. Wouldn't be shocked if LeBron is still an effective contributor at age 40. His skillset is underrated. He can evolve into a very different player and still make an impact.