LeBron James has been incredibly productive in his 21st year in the NBA, but Charles Barkley thinks he should retire soon.
James was the Lakers’ best player throughout the regular season and in the franchise’s five games against the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
A 39-year-old James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists on 54 percent shooting from the field during the regular season.
In the postseason, LeBron led the Lakers in points, assists and steals as he averaged 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.8 on 50.6 shooting from the field.
But Barkley thinks that James should consider retiring with his dignity still in tact.
“I hope he retires while he can still play,” Barkley said on ESPN Cleveland 850AM. “I saw Michael Jordan play with the [Washington] Wizards, and it was not pretty. I saw Patrick Ewing with the Orlando Magic. I would love to see LeBron James retire sooner rather than later.”
Barkley went on to say that there is a changing of the guard happening right before our eyes, since Kevin Durant, LeBron and Steph didn’t make it out of the first round.
“It ends badly for everybody,” Barkley said. “If you keep playing, there’s gonna be a time when Father Time is gonna kick you ass. He’s always gonna win. And the thing is, I hear these guys on TV comment, ‘Wow, he’s playing at such a high, high level,’ like he’s playing at a high level. Yeah, that’s true; he’s playing all right. But he’s playing with Anthony Davis in the play-in tournament. So what level is he actually playing at?”
It is shaping up to be a summer full of rumors and questions surrounding the league’s all-time greatest scorer.
After the Lakers finished Game 5, James already refused to answer whether he’d played his last game in purple and gold.
Then, rumors surfaced that LeBron is no longer prioritizing playing with his son Bronny in the NBA – which has been a dream of his for a while now.
Buckle up, it’s going to be a long summer.