Can Lebron James keep this up?

[The_Hater]

He averaged 18.9 points in the series in 2013 at age 36 which was the leading scorer on the team and I remember him carrying the spurs during game 6 of the finals (the game with Allen's heroics)

He was still very good but well below his MVP peak level by then. He was no longer in the conversation for the league's best player.

[OsuCavsfan103]

Again, now people are seeing why he coasted during the regular season. Especially on the defensive end. The man is so much smarter than he gets credit for.

[MeloNY]

Lebron''s game has subtly evolved over the years. His athleticism is still pretty remarkable but what sets him apart from everyone else is his basketball IQ. Its why Jordan was still dominant well into his thirties. The game slows down for him and he always manages to be one step ahead of the defense. He knows his shooting spots on the floor and his teammates spots so if they double he knows exactly where the ball needs to go. And because of his combination of athleticism, skill, and size, he's unstoppable in single coverage.

[blazeyo]

Lue will run him to the damn ground @ these playoffs. No less than 45 minute a night.

[The_Hater]

Again, now people are seeing why he coasted during the regular season. Especially on the defensive end. The man is so much smarter than he gets credit for.

Yup. It should have been obvious after last years playoffs that he was coasting again but some people are slow to pick up on things.

[D.Brasco]

Lots of great NBA players have still been great at age 32 so this is a question that needs to be asked again in 2-3 years. Playing at your peak past age 35 may have never been done. Jordan won his last title at 35. Karl Malone was quite good but slipping. Nash, Dirk, Kobe, Kareem, Duncan were all past their peaks.

You can be a great player past your "peak". Peak seems to refer usually to a players best 3-5 (sometimes one depending on the player) seasons. Prime however can be much longer, a decade +. Karl Malone and Kareem at least had primes stretch out into their mid 30's.

[infinite11285]

No way he keeps this up. This is probably his last great year, enjoy it while you can he has been great for the game.

Man, I've seen this same exact post every year for the past 5 years or so.

[The_Hater]

Lots of great NBA players have still been great at age 32 so this is a question that needs to be asked again in 2-3 years. Playing at your peak past age 35 may have never been done. Jordan won his last title at 35. Karl Malone was quite good but slipping. Nash, Dirk, Kobe, Kareem, Duncan were all past their peaks.

You can be a great player past your "peak". Peak seems to refer usually to a players best 3-5 (sometimes one depending on the player) seasons. Prime however can be much longer, a decade +. Karl Malone and Kareem at least had primes stretch out into their mid 30's.

I never said you couldn't. The question was how long can Lebron keep this up which I interpreted as playing at his current level, not playing at say an allstar level.

[Dupp]

Lebrons gonna retire on his own terms. He'll go down as the goat and the only person to defeat Father Time.

[dautjazz]

No way he keeps this up. This is probably his last great year, enjoy it while you can he has been great for the game.

LOL Lebron is like 5 notches above great right now, he will continue to be great for years. He is really the best player by far, and it just really isn't close. He's top 3 all-time, and really hasn't declined alot from his peak, just look at what he did last year in the playoffs, and so far in this playoffs he's having the 2nd highest PER in his playoff career (I know small sample size).

[Scizzup]

He definitely take care of his body and with new technology who knows. But Jordan fall off in 97/98 was a bit unexpected when u look at his 2 previous years.

[HotTubMike]

Cavs/Bron fans will say he will play like this until he is 38.

Other fans will say he will fall off in the next 3 years or so.

Nobody knows.. Once you start getting into the 33 age range with that much wear and tear it can end quickly or he can do the Tim Duncan..

It won't last forever though so enjoy it while you can.

[Impuniti]

No way he keeps this up. This is probably his last great year, enjoy it while you can he has been great for the game.

There's been no sign of this happening.

[Amare_1_Knicks]

We could be looking at the greatest basketball athlete of all time. At 34, Kobe was still going strong in terms of his play, impact, numbers and even though his athleticism had certainly waned by then he wasn't a shell of himself or anything. So we're two years out from that with Lebron, but I fully expect him to remain healthier into his older age. He seems to have less wear and tear on him, and is clearly the more impressive physical specimen, particularly pertaining to his durability.

That's being pretty kind. They squeaked into the playoffs his Y34 season and got swept in the 1st round. That was the year he tore his Achilles and was never the same again. He did not get to the Conference Finals after his 32nd BDay.

LeBron is still playing at GOD tier.

Right, but individually Kobe was still playing at a very high level. He was 34+ and averaged 27/6/6/1.5 on 57%TS and a 5.2 OBPM. The Lakers struggles were due to an awkward fit in terms of the coach meshing with players, as well as injuries to Nash/Blake and Gasol; not to mention the off the court issues between Kobe and Howard. Lebron had been better than Kobe anyway so I'm certainly not comparing the two in anything but durability and consistency/longevity.

You cant even compare Kobe and LB's game....LB is either drive to the basket or shoot a long jumper...he doesnt have an intermediate game he can rely on so if LB loses his quickness he will b done as an elite scorer

Well, I'm not really comparing their games at all. Just the fact that they're in similar positions at age 32 onward. Kobe had a ton of mileage from deep postseason run after deep postseason run, full seasons played without getting missing time, playing in the olympics and etc and that's essentially the same position that Lebron is in. Stylistically, obviously they're tremendously different but the point I was making is that Lebron is a different breed of athlete, really unlike anything we've seen anyway so I don't expect that to tail off abruptly barring injury.

[HurricaneKid]

We could be looking at the greatest basketball athlete of all time. At 34, Kobe was still going strong in terms of his play, impact, numbers and even though his athleticism had certainly waned by then he wasn't a shell of himself or anything. So we're two years out from that with Lebron, but I fully expect him to remain healthier into his older age. He seems to have less wear and tear on him, and is clearly the more impressive physical specimen, particularly pertaining to his durability.

That's being pretty kind. They squeaked into the playoffs his Y34 season and got swept in the 1st round. That was the year he tore his Achilles and was never the same again. He did not get to the Conference Finals after his 32nd BDay.

LeBron is still playing at GOD tier.

Right, but individually Kobe was still playing at a very high level. He was 34+ and averaged 27/6/6/1.5 on 57%TS and a 5.2 OBPM. The Lakers struggles were due to an awkward fit in terms of the coach meshing with players, as well as injuries to Nash/Blake and Gasol; not to mention the off the court issues between Kobe and Howard. Lebron had been better than Kobe anyway so I'm certainly not comparing the two in anything but durability and consistency/longevity.

They needed a rather embarrassing amount of officiating help the last 30 days of the season to make the playoffs with 4 1st ballot HoFers (you can call it 3 as Nash wasn't contributing much, but still). Lets not give Kobe TOO much credit for his "individual play" as it was just that.

[Stadium5]

GOAT athletes like MJ, LBJ, Brady, Gretzky etc....they have a knack of showing you why they're who they are...even when everyone thinks we've seen the last of it. He's got plenty more left in him

[xfactor]

No way he keeps this up. This is probably his last great year, enjoy it while you can he has been great for the game.

Why can't he keep it up? I'd love to see a decline, but I don't see it happening.

[10DayContract]

Assuming that Champion Rings doesn't put any effort on defense anymore unless it's absolutely necessary.. I guess he would maintain his current playing level for considerable amount of time.

This is a very good point. If the East stays the same, he can do this for a long time. Roll out the balls every season and gun to out score teams, then play hard on D for like 8 games, then play in The Finals. Rinse and Repeat.

[xfactor]

Again, now people are seeing why he coasted during the regular season. Especially on the defensive end. The man is so much smarter than he gets credit for.

Yup. It should have been obvious after last years playoffs that he was coasting again but some people are slow to pick up on things.

My thoughts exactly.

[INKtastic]

Lue will run him to the damn ground @ these playoffs. No less than 45 minute a night.

if they can win in 4, that's less minutes than 36 minutes/game in a 6 game series. And LeBron decides his own minutes.