LeBron James has already played four seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. In those four seasons, the King has seen a lot of ups and downs. While he did win a title with the Lakers in 2020, most expected his stint with the Purple and Gold to be a tad bit more successful.
Even more so when the Lakers completely revamped their roster before the 2021-22 NBA season in hopes of winning another title. The move backfired and the Lakers were far from a championship-caliber team.
They not only failed to make it to the playoffs, but the Lakers also didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. Since then, many have openly criticized LeBron and the Lakers. The primary focus of those insults has been the age of the Lakers.
They had one of the oldest rosters in the history of the NBA, but people overlooked it as they had some pretty amazing veterans on the team. Unfortunately, this issue is now getting highlighted more than ever due to the Lakers sitting out of the postseason.
Even Shaquille O’Neal who was initially not critical of the Lakers’ age, has given up now. In a recent video, O’Neal revealed why the team struggled this season and the concern about LBJ’s age.
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“Charles said it and I didn’t believe it but I’m starting to think about it, they may be a little too old. When you put those names together like this summer I was like ooh, Westbrook, ooh, Melo.”
He further added: “I thought they were gonna do something. They only knock on LeBron, they don’t fear him anymore. He’s older and they know he’s getting older.”
According to Shaq, LeBron’s age has created a belief around the NBA that he is older and no one needs to fear him now.
Interestingly, a few weeks earlier, Shaq also said nobody ever feared LeBron in the league, and Skip Bayless agreed to that point.
While it might seem like Shaq is being too critical of James, the King needs to do something to silence his critics in the coming season. Otherwise, his stint with the Lakers will be remembered for missing the playoffs in two seasons rather than winning a title.
