It’s pretty clear that LeBron James is aging like a fine wine. He continues to find a way to make a huge impact despite already being in his 17th season and being 35 years old, and it seems like he could continue to play for a very long time.
James has had a bit of a never-ending prime, physically speaking, and judging by the way he takes care of his body, there’s no reason to think that he couldn’t be in the league for many more years to come.
Then again, it’s pretty obvious that he’s not the same player he used to be at 27 and 28 years old when he was the most physically dominating player in the league. Still, he feels like the current version of himself would dominate a younger, stronger, more powerful LeBron James:
“You don’t even know your game. You haven’t even scratched the surface. You have no idea what you are capable of. So I think if you line up 35-year old LeBron with 27-year old LeBron, he would dominate him. He would dominate himself from eight years ago,” James said after being named Finals MVP.
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1315507330436431872
LeBron’s durability is almost unprecedented so maybe he’s not that far off at all. I mean, we’re saying a savvier, smarter version of LeBron, yet he continues to average almost the same amount of points he did during his so-called prime.
Moreover, James proved this season that he’s still able to play lockdown defense and hold his own vs. younger, quicker players, so there’s no reason to think he couldn’t match up with himself.
The King continues to prove that he’s one of the greatest athletes to ever live so maybe it’s time we stop comparing him and just enjoy the ride.
