Let's be real, Lebron is playing incredible basketball.

[StrongLurk]

Lebron leads the playoffs in steals/blocks, is second in PER, second in BPM, and 4th in WS/48, all at 40 years old lol. Shit is bonkers, especially since he won Olympic MVP over the summer.

2025 Wolves: 28.5 PER, 64.1 TS%, .249 WS/48, 11.1 BPM (26/10/6 with 4.3 stocks)

2024 Denver Series: 26 PER, 63.7 TS%, .185 WS/48, 10.6 BPM (28/7/9 with 3.4 stocks)

2023 Denver Series: 28/10/10 with 2.3 stocks on 60.5 TS%, 10.8 BPM, and a 26.9 gamescore (lead Lakers).

It's crazy how Lebron was the oldest player in the league in ALL of these playoffs.

[tpols]

He's still basically in his prime. His cast isn't gonna help him though. Two white boys and no center means Lebron could shoot 80% from the floor and Lakers would still give up a shit ton of points.

[ShawkFactory]

He’s definitely played very well. Been gassed towards the end of games though, which is fair since he’s 40 playing 45 minutes a game against a young physical team.

Got to find some way to weather the storm without him in longer stints in the first 3 quarters so that he can be fully charged at the end. I don’t know if it’s possible with the current group, since Luka is also having the same issues late.

[FKAri]

Playing so well it has me curious what stack he's on.

[dankok8]

He's probably the 3rd best player in all of those series IMO, after Jokic/AD and now after Luka/Ant. Giannis for some reason missing from leaderboards. He leads in PER thus far this postseason. Lebron is still really good for his age of course but the stats are also misleading.

For instance, in 2023 WCF, he exploded in Game 4 already down 0-3. Too little too late. He was subpar in those first three games. In this series, he was subpar in Game 1/2 and really poor in the clutch in all games. Stats overrate his impact. His best series of the three was 2024 against Denver.

Also feels weird to bring up the Olympic MVP that most people don't even think he deserved.

[StrongLurk]

He's probably the 3rd best player in all of those series IMO, after Jokic/AD and now after Luka/Ant. Giannis for some reason missing from leaderboards. He leads in PER thus far this postseason. Lebron is still really good for his age of course but the stats are also misleading.

For instance, in 2023 WCF, he exploded in Game 4 already down 0-3. Too little too late. He was subpar in those first three games. In this series, he was subpar in Game 1/2 and really poor in the clutch in all games. Stats overrate his impact. His best series of the three was 2024 against Denver.

Also feels weird to bring up the Olympic MVP that most people don't even think he deserved.

Most people 100% think he deserved it lol. The Curry stuff always cracks me up. He is a great player, but all the Lebron haters/Curry stans trying to put him above Lebron is laughable.

[StrongLurk]

He’s definitely played very well. Been gassed towards the end of games though, which is fair since he’s 40 playing 45 minutes a game against a young physical team.

Got to find some way to weather the storm without him in longer stints in the first 3 quarters so that he can be fully charged at the end. I don’t know if it’s possible with the current group, since Luka is also having the same issues late.

The absolute biggest disappointment from Lebron these last 3 playoffs is he has struggled to close most of the games. He is basically a top 5, two-way player in the playoffs for the first 40 minutes, but has struggled the last 6-8 minutes. That's on the coaches too, It's easy to get blinded by how good Lebron is and forget he's been the oldest player in the league for 3 years. He needs to be capped at like 36-38 MPG honestly so he can be good the whole 4th.

[ImKobe]

He hasn't been able to close games for any of these series despite having a top 5 player in the league next to his side in all 3. Denver's defense was a joke - there was no rim protection and he still couldn't find a way to get into the paint in 4th quarters and settled for terrible 3s early in the shot clock. AG was the only guy who could check him 1 on 1 so all he needed was a screen to get anyone else and he would abuse them.

Minnesota series

Game 3: Fumbles a pass when the Lakers were down 1 and took just 1 shot in the last 6 minutes of a close game which eventually got out of hand as the Lakers struggled to put up points and defend.

Game 4: How the hell do you have ZERO points and two shot attempts playing all 12 minutes in the 4th when your teammate is constantly getting trapped? Make that make sense. It's not like Doncic and Reaves were balling, they couldn't make any shots.

Lakers biggest issue is they have two guys who are incredible in 1st halves who disappear down the stretch of games. One's 26 and out of shape and the other is playing way too many minutes and emptying the tank early on when he should be conserving himself so he can impact the game offensively in the last 5 minutes when it's crunch time.

[dankok8]

Most people 100% think he deserved it lol. The Curry stuff always cracks me up. He is a great player, but all the Lebron haters/Curry stans trying to put him above Lebron is laughable.

I don't think Curry belongs above Lebron or in the GOAT conversation but he deserved the MVP of the Olympics more. He came up huge in the two biggest games by far.

[3ba11]

He's still basically in his prime. His cast isn't gonna help him though. Two white boys and no center means Lebron could shoot 80% from the floor and Lakers would still give up a shit ton of points.

If Lebron shot 80%, the opponent would be on their heels and wearing down so much defensively, that it would take away from their offense... Accordingly, the only reason the Lakers lost is because Lebron didn't score in the 4th.. Period.

For anyone else like Jokic or Curry, it would be reported as a historic choke to go scoreless in a super-tight game... But since the media and fans are in the tank, this historic choke is ignored in favor of "needing a center" (as if they don't already have a better one than teams like the Warriors, or as if it would turn a 1st Round loser into champion anyway).. The fraud has reached such levels of absurdity that Lebron can average 0 ppg and he'll still escape blame in favor of having an insufficient cast... (0 ppg in 4th)... And remember that he was historically bad in the clutch during the Denver series by losing 4 straight 4th quarter leads to get swept.

[StrongLurk]

Yes, Lebron has struggled to close at the end of games in the playoffs in his old age (aka the oldest player in the league the last 3 years). It's a real flaw and why he isn't a top 3 player in the playoffs since 2023. However he's been a superstar player regardless and is playing at an unheard of level for his age/mileage. He's been very good on the defensive end against the Wolves at age 40 which is crazy.

I'd love to see Reddick do the oppositive of game 4 and play a legit 8-9 man lineup in game 5. Cap Lebron and Luka at 38 minutes, see if the role players can step up more at home. They have nothing to lose being down 3-1 already. Make sure Lebron/Luka ACTUALLY rest some in the 4th quarter.

[StrongLurk]

I don't think Curry belongs above Lebron or in the GOAT conversation but he deserved the MVP of the Olympics more. He came up huge in the two biggest games by far.

Bro this conversation is so dead. There were SIX games in the tournament, and Lebron was still VERY good in the last 2 games. No Doubt Curry's explosion won them those 2 games ultimately, but the tournament is 6 games, not 2.

[red1]

he's doing alright minny just a tough matchup


same thing would've happened vs denver

[90sgoat]

Yeah, I'm a Lebron fan now that he's on my team, better late than never.

I think it's ok because he's 40 years old, so it would suck to not have rooted for Lebron once in 20 years.

Deal with it.

[Keno]

LeBron is absolutely dominating with MVP-level impact this series, no question. But the heavy minutes are taking a toll, and his age shows late in games. A few years ago, he’d be single-handedly winning these games like he always did.