Lakers insider identifies big indicator of LeBron’s decline that he’s noticed this season

Published by

Peter Dewey

December 17, 2024 1:20 pm

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers insider Jovan Buha has noticed that superstar LeBron James is calling out of games more often than previous seasons in the 2024-25 campaign.

James, who will turn 40 years old this month, is averaging 35.0 minutes per game in the 2024-25 season and has appeared in 24 of the Lakers’ 26 games.

The four-time champion missed two games in a row (against the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves) before returning on Sunday to face the Memphis Grizzlies.

James had a strong game against Memphis, helping lead the Lakers to a win. Los Angeles is now 14-12 on the season and holds the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.

On Sunday, James finished with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting (3-for-6 from 3) while adding eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal and two blocks for the Lakers in the win.

While the 20-time All-Star may not be the same player he once was, James can still be a dominant player at the NBA level. This season, he’s averaging 22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc.

In addition to those numbers, James has seven triple-doubles this season, showing that he can still impact the game across the board even at his age.

The last two seasons, the Lakers have made the playoffs by way of the play-in tournament, but James, Anthony Davis and company would love to earn a top-six seed and avoid the play-in this season.

However, the Lakers may need to balance how much they’re willing to play James to get into the postseason with him being healthy. If the 20-time All-Star needs more games off – or more frequent breaks – the Lakers may need to oblige in order to keep him in peak shape for the postseason.

James and the Lakers will be back in action on Thursday, Dec. 19 against the Sacramento Kings. That matchup will be the first of two straight games for Los Angeles on the road against Sacramento. The Lakers are just 5-9 in their 14 road games so far this season.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.