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I think it may be very possible. With his Karl Malone-esque durability I can see Lebron easily playing until his late 30s or even possibly early 40s. He has expanded his game quite a bit so when he loses his athleticism, I feel he can still be effective. He has gained more and more muscle mass over the years so he can easily dominate at the 4 as he has last season so he can rely more on strength rather than speed and agility.

It's crazy that Lebron may not even be done with half of his career yet. What do you guys think?

I doubt he can reach the assists. I would say he's a sure bet for 30k/7.5k/10k.

Yes.

LeBron "being done" by his early 30s in the biggest load of crap. So what if he did lose most of his athleticism...You still have a 6"8 Malone like body running around the court with Magic playmaking skills.

GetItDone wrote:Yes.

LeBron "being done" by his early 30s in the biggest load of crap. So what if he did lose most of his athleticism...You still have a 6"8 Malone like body running around the court with Magic playmaking skills.

His body is bound to break down. He's been playing since 18...

ComboGuardCity wrote:

GetItDone wrote:Yes.

LeBron "being done" by his early 30s in the biggest load of crap. So what if he did lose most of his athleticism...You still have a 6"8 Malone like body running around the court with Magic playmaking skills.

His body is bound to break down. He's been playing since 18...

At some point he'll change his game. He facilitates the offense so well, is so strong, and just has an incredible feel for the game that even a drastic athleticism decline would probably reduce him to "only" and all-star talent. I can see him playing till 40. His career is less than 1/2 over.

ComboGuardCity wrote:

GetItDone wrote:Yes.

LeBron "being done" by his early 30s in the biggest load of crap. So what if he did lose most of his athleticism...You still have a 6"8 Malone like body running around the court with Magic playmaking skills.

His body is bound to break down. He's been playing since 18...

And if he did lose his explosiveness? He's still a top 5 overall playmaker of all time.

Its not just his explosiveness. Its his back and knees. He's got the talent, I just don't know if any man has the durability, but if someone did, its him.

No. He's going to be a 4 in his 30's and the assists will become stagnant.

I see him retiring 28k points, 8k assists, 10k rebounds.

Since he always ends up with 9 assists instead of 10 during the game I'll go with 9k assists

He'll probably reach it if he continues to play until he's 37.....

ComboGuardCity wrote:

GetItDone wrote:Yes.

LeBron "being done" by his early 30s in the biggest load of crap. So what if he did lose most of his athleticism...You still have a 6"8 Malone like body running around the court with Magic playmaking skills.

His body is bound to break down. He's been playing since 18...

His body is bound to break down sure if we are comparing him to conventional NBA players and careers, but there is nothing conventional about James and his body, athleticism, strength, and speed.

He is such a freak of athletic nature that if you told me at 35 he was still a top NBA athlete I would not doubt it.

His athleticism is insane, and unprecedented.

Don't see him reaching the assists unless he plays a really long time, but it's definitely possible.

The assists seem pretty unlikely considering how long hes already been playing. I agree with 30k 7.5k and 10k being more realistic.

How many peoples have 30/10/10? none im guessing...?

He should stop scoring after 30k, and try for 20 assists a game.

As long as he doesn't have a dominant rebounder on his team

30k points is almost guaranteed at this point assuming no major injuries. 10k rebounds is a decent probability assuming a long career. 10k assists is extremely unlikely though unless he has some late stage turn into a pure high assist point guard.

-edit- I'm not even sure what kind of player can ever achieve 30,000 points and 10,000 assists? You're talking a primary all-time high scorer/primary all-time high assist player. That almost can't exist.

I'm not sure on the 10k assists..

GetItDone wrote:And if he did lose his explosiveness? He's still a top 5 overall playmaker of all time.

I would look at the top 5 point guards as your 'top 5 overall playmakers of all time' before i anoint Lebron with that.

How many people have 10k+ assists? 4 now with Nash or 5?

Don't think he gets there unless he plays til he is 38-40.

I think that there is more probability for LBJ to end up 35k points than 10k assists.

Depends on how long his body holds up.
Lebron is a unique athlete but everyone loses to father time eventually.

I mean who knows maybe new medical advancements will come out allowing him to stay at a high level for much longer then we'd expect.
Look at Kobe with those German Knee's returning to form this year.

Still the future is always uncertain.
Look at Karl Malone.
Was going strong for so long and then bam he randomly hurts his Knee on the Lakers and never plays again.