T or F: If the rules/era stayed same -aging LeBron stats would decline significantly

[hiphopanonymous]

Just as the title says. If the era and all the rule changes about spacing and contact never changed, would LeBron's stats actually be drooping right now? On paper his career is looking great, as if there's been no slide in his aging. Coincides with the inflated stat era though. He ranks much lower among his peers in his year to year statistical categories despite the numbers looking the same at a glance.

Any guesses what his current numbers would be if it was the same rules as say, 2008? Would he be in the 20ppg range instead of his coasting through 25-30 for the past 8 years?

[ShawkFactory]

True. I think he’d probably be more like a 20ppg guy at this point. Could still give you 30+ on his day but on the off days where he’s scoring 24 now that might be more like 16.

[ILLsmak]

True, but for like one moment he can do some shit I've never seen a 39 year old dude do in the NBA haha. He'd still get it in, but he gets a lot of easy lay ups. Like I said before he prol gets 8 or so lay ups / dunks in games where he gets close to 30 points. Fast break IQ is really weak in the NBA now, too, at least defensively.

-Smak

[dankok8]

Yea I think with NBA rules even 10 years ago he's around 22/7/6 ppg. That was top 10/15 in the league type production.

[StrongLurk]

Lol Lebron's stats would not significantly decline. They would be less in 2008 than now, but just slightly by raw box score. His advanced stats still have him as a top 10 player even over these last three years.

Maybe 39 year old Bron is a 23/7/6 type guy in 2008?

You gotta realize that Lebron would be player MORE minutes per game in 2008 than he is now because of the slower pace. So he still may get his 75 possessions a game or so regardless of if it's 2008 or 2024.

[Airupthere]

Game was already easier by 2005

[mr4speed]

Just as the title says. If the era and all the rule changes about spacing and contact never changed, would LeBron's stats actually be drooping right now? On paper his career is looking great, as if there's been no slide in his aging. Coincides with the inflated stat era though. He ranks much lower among his peers in his year to year statistical categories despite the numbers looking the same at a glance.

Any guesses what his current numbers would be if it was the same rules as say, 2008? Would he be in the 20ppg range instead of his coasting through 25-30 for the past 8 years?

I think the answer to the question is yes. The NBA wants to support and encourage offensive numbers to attract fans, hence the lack of calls on travelling. I have a question = when did the "assist" rule change, where an assist could be given to a player when the recipient of the pass can now take 1 or 2 dribbles and then score?

[hiphopanonymous]

Lol Lebron's stats would not significantly decline. They would be less in 2008 than now, but just slightly by raw box score. His advanced stats still have him as a top 10 player even over these last three years.
In 2008 the 6th best scorer in the league was 23ppg, LeBron isn't even top 15 right now, he's 17th... cruising along at 25.2ppg. 17th in 2008 was 21ppg, so how is that or other stats he's putting up not a significant difference?

[tpols]

If Lebrons prime ended in the late 90s and he was this age in the early 2000s he easily would've retired. Unless he wanted to slug it out in the ugliest, toughest defensive era as an old man at the expense of his health. Today is just a joke physicality and spacing wise compared to back then.

[Xiao Yao You]

I thought Stockton was pretty much the same player until he retired. They played him less minutes. He didn't miss games except for the mere 30 he missed after microfracture surgery on his knee

[ShawkFactory]

If Lebrons prime ended in the late 90s and he was this age in the early 2000s he easily would've retired. Unless he wanted to slug it out in the ugliest, toughest defensive era as an old man at the expense of his health. Today is just a joke physicality and spacing wise compared to back then.

That may be true but if anyone can handle the physical punishment it’s him. Something that people don’t talk about enough is that he weighs more than most centers of that era. Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo, Admiral. Literally heavier than all of them.

Just because the fouls were harder doesn’t mean he’s going to be physically bullied. The mindset is different now of course but he has the frame to deal with it if he wanted to. A lot of the other guys who retired then were like 210 to start and understandably stopped training as hard and probably lost some. Couldn’t physically hang at that point.

Bron could.

[sdot_thadon]

His efficiency would suffer a bit but I can't see his numbers being too different, he'd just adjust his game to fit that one the same way he did in real time. I don't think his detractors give enough credit to his adaptability. Also he'd probably spend alot of time at the charity stripe seeing as he regularly got 10 attempts a game in 08 despite spending less time in the paint than in his 21st season.

[tpols]

That may be true but if anyone can handle the physical punishment it’s him. Something that people don’t talk about enough is that he weighs more than most centers of that era. Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo, Admiral. Literally heavier than all of them.

Just because the fouls were harder doesn’t mean he’s going to be physically bullied. The mindset is different now of course but he has the frame to deal with it if he wanted to. A lot of the other guys who retired then were like 210 to start and understandably stopped training as hard and probably lost some. Couldn’t physically hang at that point.

Bron could.

It's not just about individual weight. There was literally 0 3pt spacing back then and the paints were crowded as hell. He would be taking body shots from every different angle on every drive. There's a reason the midrange game was so heavily utilized back then.

And being heavier than all of those 7 footers doesn't mean shit. We've seen skinny DPOY guys like Tyson Chandler and Roy Hibbert hold prime Lebron back at times. That list you rattled off is a titan gauntlet of rim protection that's basically the antidote to Lebrons game.

[guy]

Yea I think with NBA rules even 10 years ago he's around 22/7/6 ppg. That was top 10/15 in the league type production.

Agree and I'd say on significantly less efficiency. It makes sense too. He's clearly not as good as he was in his prime, but his numbers are. Only explanation is the era and its playing style/rules, which has evolved a lot even just during Lebron's career.

On the flip side, Lebron in his prime in this era, may be putting up something like 35/10/10.

[StrongLurk]

In 2008 the 6th best scorer in the league was 23ppg, LeBron isn't even top 15 right now, he's 17th... cruising along at 25.2ppg. 17th in 2008 was 21ppg, so how is that or other stats he's putting up not a significant difference?

That's not how things in basketball work...

[tpols]

That's not how things in basketball work...

Yes it is. It shows its much easier to score now than in 2008. You look like a fool arguing otherwise.

[FKAri]

I think LeBron's peak play would be more impacted by it. His lack of a mid range game suffers slightly more under older rules. But his longevity isn't effected. That's just modern training/recovery/nutrition.

The longevity of small guards who slash would be drastically reduced due to getting hard fouled in the paint every other drive. Either they'd have to change their game like Vince Carter did in 04/05 or take the beatings like Iverson.

[StrongLurk]

Yes it is. It shows its much easier to score now than in 2008. You look like a fool arguing otherwise.

That poster is being too literal about it. 39 year old Lebron being 17th in ppg now does not mean he would be 17th in ppg in 2008.

I already said in my other post that of course his raw box score would decrease slightly, but Lebron's minutes per game would be higher in 2008 compared to now.

Lebron could still potentially have the same amount of possessions considering his insane stamina. So yeah, I could see something like 23/7/6 instead of 25/7/7.

His TS% would decrease some too. With that being said, his advanced stats are still top 10 even for this season...39 year old Bron would be a top 10 player in 2008 too. Lebron would also be a much better defender guarding 2008 offenses vs 2024 offenses.

[ShawkFactory]

It's not just about individual weight. There was literally 0 3pt spacing back then and the paints were crowded as hell. He would be taking body shots from every different angle on every drive. There's a reason the midrange game was so heavily utilized back then.

And being heavier than all of those 7 footers doesn't mean shit. We've seen skinny DPOY guys like Tyson Chandler and Roy Hibbert hold prime Lebron back at times. That list you rattled off is a titan gauntlet of rim protection that's basically the antidote to Lebrons game.

You've unsurprisingly missed the point.

I didn't say that the rim protection wouldn't be a deterrent to him driving, but rather the physical nature of the game would be something than Lebron would be able to handle more than pretty much anyone.

In this case he very likely works more on the midrange game. Not as much use for it now but if it was necessary then I'd wager it would be a focus of his.

[Full Court]

Everyone's offensive stats would drop a bit with the rules of previous eras. Lebron's included.

[elementally morale]

I think the answer to the question is yes. The NBA wants to support and encourage offensive numbers to attract fans, hence the lack of calls on travelling. I have a question = when did the "assist" rule change, where an assist could be given to a player when the recipient of the pass can now take 1 or 2 dribbles and then score?

Never. It just happened. Like with the carry rule not enforced.

[elementally morale]

His efficiency would suffer a bit but I can't see his numbers being too different, he'd just adjust his game to fit that one the same way he did in real time. I don't think his detractors give enough credit to his adaptability. Also he'd probably spend alot of time at the charity stripe seeing as he regularly got 10 attempts a game in 08 despite spending less time in the paint than in his 21st season.

I agree with this. Don't like his game at all but he would adjust. Ha cares a lot about his outlook and good enough to figure it out.

[SATAN]

He's constantly evolving parts of his game. He'd just be doing other things to get the job done imo. The greats find a way. Plus he's an absolute freak athletically so there's nothing to compare him to in that regard.

[Phoenix]

Efficiency is likely the thing that swings the most either way depending on the era. He'd probably still be 25/7/7 but on 57-58% TS( right now he's at 62%, of course that could change by seasons end). As I said in another thread, Lebron knows how to pace himself in order to get that stat-line. 6/2/2 a quarter is 24/8/8( close enough to where he is now), even light years past his prime he's good enough to do that. The difference is 10 years ago he was flying all over the court defensively while producing those stats.

[Lebron23]

Just as the title says. If the era and all the rule changes about spacing and contact never changed, would LeBron's stats actually be drooping right now? On paper his career is looking great, as if there's been no slide in his aging. Coincides with the inflated stat era though. He ranks much lower among his peers in his year to year statistical categories despite the numbers looking the same at a glance.

Any guesses what his current numbers would be if it was the same rules as say, 2008? Would he be in the 20ppg range instead of his coasting through 25-30 for the past 8 years?

2006 lebron who averaged 31.4 ppg would average 36 to 40 ppg in todays nba the 2000’s had the 2nd best defensive era after the 1970’s. You can check it online. The 2010’s and 1990’s had the same defensive rating.

[ImKobe]

2006 lebron who averaged 31.4 ppg would average 36 to 40 ppg in todays nba the 2000’s had the 2nd best defensive era after the 1970’s. You can check it online. The 2010’s and 1990’s had the same defensive rating.

Idk, his lack of jump shooting ability from '06 would put a ceiling on his ppg average I think. I could see him averaging a 30+ point triple-double on the season if he was on a mediocre team and had to do more, and he'd be more efficient since he'd have an easier time getting to the rim. Let's just say '06 Lebron would be a lot more efficient in today's NBA and he'd put up more rebs & asts.


As far as the aging part goes though, Lebron's production would obviously fall off if the league was still stuck in where it was in the late 2000s/early 2010s. He simply can't do as much athletically, and while his 3PT shot has improved, it's not like he's evolved beyond being a streaky shooter so he'd still be good, but instead of 25 ppg he'd be somewhere around 22 ppg.