For the first time ever, we may have seen the decline of the most durable player ever? The one aspect of Lebron's game that has always been impeccable is his ability to stay healthy throughout his career. The only times he has been sidelined for a longer period of time was during his first stint with the Lakers, as he aggravated his groin on Christmas Day as the Lakers demolished the Warriors. He was sidelined for weeks which ultimately shocked many fans as they seemed to think that we were starting to see the end of Lebron's basketball days. Is father time starting to get to Lebron? This was during the 2018-2019 season when the Raptors won the championship and Lebron missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011. What a time this was. At the time, many fans seemed very new to the idea of Lebron out of the playoffs. That didn't last very long, did it?
*sigh*
There are people similar to the opinion of Skip Bayless who believe Lebron's days of glory are over as he doesn't have much left in him, he has been surpassed by Kevin Durant, and he is entering his farewell days. Factually, this really isn't true. Below are Lebron's numbers during his decline season and his numbers throughout his career.
Lebron's 3 point percentages has gone up as he shot 36.5% this season, his free-throw numbers have gone to 69.8% this year,(That's been a problem since his Miami days and it's not going to improve much.) and his points per game are 2 below his career average. Lebron has sat out for injuries quite a bit, since 2018-2019, but there a few points that come into effect. Also, say you really don't have too much natural basketball knowledge. If you simply look into the numbers, factually there isn't much of a decline in the statistics. His assist game has been up as of his past few years, and his 3 point game remains around the same vicinity. Although, one aspect of his game that is at a decline is his minutes played per game, which in retrospective, should help him last more years to keep hooping.
Students have an extra month to do whatever it is that they do before they go to school, but the Lakers' squad had 71 days to rest and recover before an NBA season. It's asking a lot out of Lebron to have brought a consecutive championship with such little rest. Although, that would have left an astronomical mark on his legacy.
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