In a segment on his podcast, Warriors legend Draymond Green gave his candid take on LeBron James. According to Green, while Father Time is finally catching up to the King after 21 years, he’s not quite “done” being one of the best players on the planet.
“Is father time catching up to him? Absolutely,” said Green. “Because Father Time catches up to everyone. However, where I disagree is people are saying, ‘Oh, we just saw it. Now he’s done!’ I disagree with that and the reason I disagree with that is that it looks like to me right now that he’s a little tired. But we have to remember the [Lakers] played into the playoffs last year, they fought an uphill battle to make it there and then he comes in and does the Olympics with no time off. I think LeBron [James] has hit a little bit of a wall right now.”
As someone who has battled LeBron at the peak of his powers, Draymond knows all too well the kind of impact that James has on the floor. Even now, in year 22, LeBron is the center of everything for the Lakers and they need him at full strength to compete in the West.
So after dragging them to the playoffs, and losing to the Nuggets in the first round, it would have been better for James to rest and prepare his body for the upcoming season. Instead, James took it upon himself to compete in the Olympic Games this summer where he logged heavy minutes as a focal point of the team.
To say that LeBron has been overworked over the past six months might be an understatement at this point given his age and the frequency with which he comes to save the day for the Lakers.
This season, however, LeBron has been struggling to play up to his usual standards. With averages of 22.0 points, 9.1 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game on 48.2% shooting (34.5% from three), James is having his worst scoring season in years and it has put the Lakers in a difficult position.
LeBron’s ongoing shooting slump is perhaps the worst of his career so far and many Lakers fans believe it’s the start of his natural decline as one of the best players in the game.
Draymond Green has problems of his own to worry about on the Warriors but he has defended LeBron before and it’s no surprise to see him to it again here. And while Green cannot deny LeBron’s losing battle against time, he will deny that his glory days are completely over.
Even now, at 39 years old, LeBron James can still be an effective player for the Lakers both on the court and in the locker room. But if the team wants any hope of making a lasting run, they’ll need to shift their focus to Anthony Davis and rebuild everything around him.
With one or maybe two more years left, LeBron knows that the end is near but he’s hoping to end things on good terms, with his team still in the championship picture. Tonight, LeBron and the Lakers will have another chance to set things right against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center at 7:30 PM EST. Their East road trip continues on Friday, December 6th, against the Hawks at 7:30 PM EST in State Farm Arena. Finally, the Lakers are back home for their matchup against the Trail Blazers on Saturday, December 8th, at 9:30 PM EST.
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