Why isn't LeBron James aging? Thinking Basketball

[1987_Lakers]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHzJBqJcsi4

[Real Men Wear Green]

He's absolutely shown his age. He's the best 39 year-old ever but he used to be a great defender, in Miami at times looked like the DPoY, but the last few years in LA have had a number of lowlights. In this modern era of inflated stats he's 2 points below his career average and he's working on his fourth straight season playing less than 60 games.

[Xiao Yao You]

used to be durable as well. Like all old people his body is breaking down. Some players in the past would have aged better with load management too

[SATAN]

used to be durable as well. Like all old people his body is breaking down. Some players in the past would have aged better with load management too

:facepalm

[Xiao Yao You]

:facepalm

he is durable? Hasn't played 60 games in 4 years. Am I missing something?

[Phoenix]

Lebron has mastered how to pace stat output. If you can drop 6/2/2 a quarter, that's a 24/8/8 statline. He's more than good enough to do that even at 39, while being light years away from the player he was a decade or even 5 years ago.

[Da_Realist]

Great timing. Lost 9 of the last 12 games while standing around on defense, flopping on the court and complaining to the refs. No impact but nice stats though :cletus:

[Xiao Yao You]

Great timing. Lost 9 of the last 12 games while standing around on defense, flopping on the court and complaining to the refs. No impact but nice stats though :cletus:

and another banner! Not much left to play for :cheers:

[BarberSchool]

He is aging. Especially since Covid & the Covid shots.

He just dyes his hair/beard, got hair plugs several times, eats a high protein high fiber high hydration diet, takes a ridiculous amount of legal OTC supplements, as well as spending plenty of money on recovery, and anti-inflammatories.

He also takes some banned/illegal stuff:

Deca-Durabolin
Erythropotein
Human Growth Hormone
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

[1987_Lakers]

Great timing.

Great timing indeed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsRdbjUXOI&t

[Lebron23]

Great timing. Lost 9 of the last 12 games while standing around on defense, flopping on the court and complaining to the refs. No impact but nice stats though :cletus:
Did Michael Jordan banged you every night?

[SATAN]

Great timing indeed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsRdbjUXOI&t


Did Michael Jordan banged you every night?

:yaohappy:

[ArbitraryWater]

He's absolutely shown his age. He's the best 39 year-old ever but he used to be a great defender, in Miami at times looked like the DPoY, but the last few years in LA have had a number of lowlights. In this modern era of inflated stats he's 2 points below his career average and he's working on his fourth straight season playing less than 60 games.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsRdbjUXOI

[ArbitraryWater]

Great timing indeed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsRdbjUXOI&t


oh lol

[WhiteKyrie]

Lebron has mastered how to pace stat output. If you can drop 6/2/2 a quarter, that's a 24/8/8 statline. He's more than good enough to do that even at 39, while being light years away from the player he was a decade or even 5 years ago.

Bingo, the art of mirage and narrative spinning basketball wise. Anyone who watches this guy knows he’s not even close to how he was in 2020, let alone 2018, which was the last real season where he was a top five player and could actually dominate an entire basketball game. He literally just stands around on offense, and defense, not doing much of anything when the ball isn’t in his hands, and even then, when it is in his hands, he requires a specific set of circumstances, in order to get baskets. He is not an impact player anymore. He can get his stats, extremely misleading ones and it’s been like that ever since the end of the 2020 season to anyone who actually understands what they’re watching

[Real Men Wear Green]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsRdbjUXOI

No one is saying he can't dunk. Do you think LA is only .500 with prime Lebron James?

[ArbitraryWater]

No one is saying he can't dunk. Do you think LA is only .500 with prime Lebron James?

No one is saying he is at his peak, it says "age".

And he isnt.

That isnt stuff you do in year 21. Nor is averaging what he averages, which would be prime for 99.9% players ever or even all, you could reasonably make this part of lebrons extended prime.

[elementally morale]

He is aging. Especially since Covid & the Covid shots.

He just dyes his hair/beard, got hair plugs several times, eats a high protein high fiber high hydration diet, takes a ridiculous amount of legal OTC supplements, as well as spending plenty of money on recovery, and anti-inflammatories.

He also takes some banned/illegal stuff:

Deca-Durabolin
Erythropotein
Human Growth Hormone
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin


I don't doubt the illegal stuff, many people use something. But how do you know the specifics? I guess HGH is on everyone's diet nowadays and you can follow the effet on their faces. What about the other stuff you mentioned?

[Real Men Wear Green]

No one is saying he is at his peak, it says "age".

And he isnt.

That isnt stuff you do in year 21. Nor is averaging what he averages, which would be prime for 99.9% players ever or even all, you could reasonably make this part of lebrons extended prime.

The aging is demonstrated by his obvious decline. Just because he is better than most players doesn't mean he hasn't been aging.

[SaltyMeatballs]

He is quite literally the most athletic dude ever. No one has had his combination of size, speed, strength, durability, stamina, and vertical for that long, especially at the age. Oldest player in the league and he can still outrun guys with elite speed. He can still get up higher than athletic guys in their 20s. Just unbelievable.

[ArbitraryWater]

The aging is demonstrated by his obvious decline. Just because he is better than most players doesn't mean he hasn't been aging.

There is no obvious decline.

No player has ever had less of a comedown 21 years into the league.

Thats the entire point.

[warriorfan]

There is no obvious decline.

No player has ever had less of a comedown 21 years into the league.

Thats the entire point.

I agree, he hasn’t declined that much he’s been pretty shitty and playing zero defense for along ass time at this point

[elementally morale]

The aging is demonstrated by his obvious decline. Just because he is better than most players doesn't mean he hasn't been aging.

I'm probably stronger than ever. My face doesn't really show my age either. I have all my hair, not wrinkled, etc. So at first sight people think I'm like 35 and I'm 50 this year. Even I think I'm 35 some of the time, LOL. But I'm definitely aging. Aging a lot more and a lot faster than my appearance. My body control is nowhere near its peak. Explosiveness gone. Need lots of rest, I get tired a lot more easily. Most of these things are not visible but you can feel it. E.g. I really have to take care of my body. Diet has become a lot more important, if I gain 10-15 pounds it is now really hard to lose it. I can still stay up all night but I'm dead tired the next day. So I do it less and less. Gave up alcohol altogether. Aging is not fun.

[Kblaze8855]

He is but players don’t age like they used to. We see guys like LeBron, or even more extreme Tom Brady, who was better at 44 than 24 and see them as crazy outliers, but ignore all the great players who are so much better than the legends were even in their early to mid 30s. So many players used to be washed at like 30 even when healthy.


Steph is gonna be 36 before the season ends. Isiah Thomas was washed at 31. Chris Paul was an all star at 37. Oscar Robertson didn’t make it to that age. KD is 35 doing 30 a game on 52/48/88 which would feel like a low games played outlier except he did 29 on 56/40/92 last season. His closest historical comparison is George Gervin who wasn’t even playing 30 minutes after age 31 and was in Europe by 34.


Obviously today’s players last longer on high levels for a lot of reasons. Add in todays style of play that helps increase production relative to most of the past?

Doesnt seem so weird.

[elementally morale]

There is no obvious decline.

No player has ever had less of a comedown 21 years into the league.

Thats the entire point.

I agree with the 'no player' part. The decline as I see it is he can't do it every other night any more. He can still be great for a game, maybe even for a series in the playoffs. But not for a whole season, playoffs included. That's the decline. Is he still better than like 90% of the league? Yes. Is he the best player close to 40? He is. The decline is still there. But it actually makes it all the more impressive.

[Real Men Wear Green]

There is no obvious decline.

No player has ever had less of a comedown 21 years into the league.

Thats the entire point.

Going on 4 straight seasons under 60 games isn't decline? Going from great defender to at to be one of the wurst on the floor isn't decline? Did Spoelstra ever talk about managing his minutes?

[dankok8]

He is but players don’t age like they used to. We see guys like LeBron, or even more extreme Tom Brady, who was better at 44 than 24 and see them as crazy outliers, but ignore all the great players who are so much better than the legends were even in their early to mid 30s. So many players used to be washed at like 30 even when healthy.


Steph is gonna be 36 before the season ends. Isiah Thomas was washed at 31. Chris Paul was an all star at 37. Oscar Robertson didn’t make it to that age. KD is 35 doing 30 a game on 52/48/88 which would feel like a low games played outlier except he did 29 on 56/40/92 last season. His closest historical comparison is George Gervin who wasn’t even playing 30 minutes after age 31 and was in Europe by 34.


Obviously today’s players last longer on high levels for a lot of reasons. Add in todays style of play that helps increase production relative to most of the past?

Doesnt seem so weird.

This guy gets it.

I could also add Messi, Ronaldo, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Ovechkin from other sports too...

[ImKobe]

He's clearly aged a ton. Helps that he's been able to avoid knee/achilles injuries so he still has some lift but Bran fans on ISH been saying for years that he's no longer able to attack the rim as consistently. The league has gotten worse on D over the years so he's able to keep up the averages which is still impressive given the age, but you can see the decline in the advanced metrics.

[BarberSchool]

Bingo, the art of mirage and narrative spinning basketball wise. Anyone who watches this guy knows he’s not even close to how he was in 2020, let alone 2018, which was the last real season where he was a top five player and could actually dominate an entire basketball game. He literally just stands around on offense, and defense, not doing much of anything when the ball isn’t in his hands, and even then, when it is in his hands, he requires a specific set of circumstances, in order to get baskets. He is not an impact player anymore. He can get his stats, extremely misleading ones and it’s been like that ever since the end of the 2020 season to anyone who actually understands what they’re watchingexactly.

[ArbitraryWater]

Bingo, the art of mirage and narrative spinning basketball wise. Anyone who watches this guy knows he’s not even close to how he was in 2020, let alone 2018, which was the last real season where he was a top five player and could actually dominate an entire basketball game. He literally just stands around on offense, and defense, not doing much of anything when the ball isn’t in his hands, and even then, when it is in his hands, he requires a specific set of circumstances, in order to get baskets. He is not an impact player anymore. He can get his stats, extremely misleading ones and it’s been like that ever since the end of the 2020 season to anyone who actually understands what they’re watching


:oldlol:

[imdaman99]

He's sold his soul to the devil... since there's a topic about the illuminati in the off ball forum. He almost came to collect for bronny

[SATAN]

:facepalm

[NBAGOAT]

seems like no one watched the video. The recap is better basketball iq, better skill and even with declining athleticism he's still a freak athlete with incredible size. all that money and work on training and recovery helps too. Lebron was first athlete I heard of besides federer(no coincidence) who sleeps 10-12 hrs a day. With other guys you heard more about them practicing at like 4 in the morning or out partying(kobe slept 4 hrs a day supposedly). Finally modern medicine helps, kd's looking to have incredible longevity too along with some other guys

[SATAN]

seems like no one watched the video.

Most LeBron haters haven't watched a game since the late 90s let alone this...

[sdot_thadon]

I dunno, from where im sitting, he's declined for years. His 2nd Cavs stint he was different than his 1st, he was in the part of his career where mind and body were finally on the same level. As he's slowed down more he's made up for it by playing differently. The haters think he's played the same way his entire run but he's made adjustments as he's went on. He's still obviously great, just in smaller doses. No amount of narrative can have him shooting near a career high from 3 on more attempts than his career best year. Or have him with the very best in the league in crunch time. Can't narrative your way into any of that. Does he play as hard on defense? Of course not, but in spots he still can deliver on that end. Who asks a guy that old to carry the defense anyhow? I'd imagine effort is strategic at this point because he has to make it to be able to go full bore in the postseason. Crazy thing is he's spoiled us to the point of fans waving off what he IS doing at this moment and it's amazing no matter how you slice it.

[tontoz]

He is definitely aging but size and skills aren't going anywhere. It is mobility/recovery that declines.

I quit playing pickup games at 40. In the few years prior to that i was fine to play once a week. Twice a week was the limit. A NBA schedule just doesnt work at that age. It is easier for a big that doesn't need speed.

He's done a good job taking care of his body and pacing himself but make no mistake he is feeling his age.

[WhiteKyrie]

He is definitely aging but size and skills aren't going anywhere. It is mobility/recovery that declines.
No skills can erode too and have with LeBron. Particularly in basketball which is heavy hand and eye coordination. His handle is sloppy as shit sometimes. And for someone who is professionally dribbling a ball as much as he does, it’s inexcusable so age is playing a part in that as well. General athleticism but yes mobility and recovery primarily. But without speed and quickness, it can be pretty damn ugly at times


I quit playing pickup games at 40. In the few years prior to that i was fine to play once a week. Twice a week was the limit. A NBA schedule just doesnt work at that age. It is easier for a big that doesn't need speed.
True and I’m experiencing that now. But actually playing more frequently is better for the body than not doing so. But in general I agree. It’s also why LeBron is kind of dumb for not adjusting with age and totally morphing into a low block PF and working on that skill set.


He's done a good job taking care of his body and pacing himself but make no mistake he is feeling his age.
100%. You can see it many times a game. He’s not an impact player anymore regardless of his deliberate manufactured statistical output.

[sdot_thadon]

100%. You can see it many times a game. He’s not an impact player anymore regardless of his deliberate manufactured statistical output.
He's #6 in both 4th qtr scoring and assists. Nice try.