Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is the oldest player in the NBA.
At age 40, the future Hall of Fame forward realistically only has a few years of high-level basketball left in the tank.
However, Fox Sports’ Rob Parker strongly believes that James should retire after the Lakers’ season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
“The bottom line remains, LeBron James should retire,” Parker said Friday. “Pull the plug. You’re 40 years old, how long do you want to play? Do you want to keep losing? Do you want to get to the point where you’re not even making the playoffs? Is that the end game?”
“LeBron, stop it already. The longer you play and the more you lose, the worse off it gets. After these last three years, how could anyone think LeBron James is the Goat, when he’s 2-12 and been knocked out of the playoffs the last two first rounds? Even Tom Brady had to eventually pull the plug.”
“You think he (James) will get better defensively or have more energy in fourth quarters as he gets older? It doesn’t even make sense to me. You don’t get better when you get older, you get slower and you get more tired.”
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“I hope he has some friends or minions, or even his family to say hey, it’s time to come on home, you’ve done enough. What more do you want?”
When James was asked about his thoughts on retirement following the final contest of the 2024-25 campaign, the four-time NBA champion didn’t appear to be leaning toward one particular direction.
James stated that he didn’t have the answer to the compelling question and must examine his options before making a massive decision.
If James returns to the Lakers next season and the organization lands a trustworthy lob threat for Luka Doncic in free agency, there could be optimism surrounding Los Angeles’ title chances.
If James leaves the NBA after 22 seasons, the Lakers will be forced to navigate life without the game-changing 6-foot-9 asset that helped them win a championship in 2020.
The 25.4 points per game playoff scorer will soon make headlines, regardless of his choice.
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