LeBron James is still playing at an 'all-star level'

Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Jason Fitz and Jay Busbee are joined by NBA reporter Jovan Buha to discuss how Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James continues to play at a high level, despite his age. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV.

Video Transcript

Lebron James is just three field goals away from being the all-time leader in NBA history.

He’s seven games away from being the all-time games played leader.

Basically, if there’s a record out there, he’s right on the cusp of having it.

Joining us now, Jovan Bo- Buha joins us.

You can check out, the Buha Block Podcast, which by the way, is the best name in history.

Jovan, really look, we- we really appreciate your time.

I’m trying to figure out what to make of LeBron right now because it feels to me like when we’re 30 years from now, we’re all gonna be sitting on the porch saying, “Ah, but we watched LeBron play.”

But right now it feels like there’s just still this loud voice of people that no matter what he accomplishes, will still have something negative to say about LeBron.

So in his 23rd season, what do you see from LeBron with this Lakers team?

I still see an All-Star level player who, is defying father time for a, a record 23rd season.

is he perfect?

No, no player is.

Has he maybe slipped a little bit compared to last season when he finished sixth in MVP voting and sixth in All-NBA?

maybe a, a little bit.

Like, he- I don’t think he’s been quite to that level.

Last year by several measures, you could’ve said he was a top 10 guy.

I don’t think he’s been a top 10 guy this season.

but that does not take away from the season that he’s having.

And he’s not just good for 41 years old or age 23, he’s good for just straight up any NBA player.

A- and I again, I, I think he’s played at an All-Star level.

He’s played progressively better throughout the season, so I, I think it’s been impressive.

Should the Lakers pursue an extension with LeBron or should they, sh- is it time for the, the two parties to move on in separate directions?

I think there’s a lot of context here depending on how the rest of the season goes for the Lakers.

for the season, the Lakers have a minus 0.4 net rating with the big three.

so, especially before th- this last injury that Austin Reaves suffered and, and was out for a while, they were really struggling, like pre-Christmas with the big three.

but coming out of the All-Star break, they have a, about a 9.6 net rating.

So that has really flipped, i- in the positive.

And if you just look at the makeup of the roster, those guys are gonna be playing 38, 40 minutes a night in the playoffs, which means that they’re gonna share the floor for 20-plus minutes, per game, and they have to win those minutes.

And they’ve been trending in a positive direction with that.

but I, I lay that out just because I think if LeBron and Austin and Luka can all fit together and the Lakers can have success and maybe win a playoff series, then I think it makes sense to keep going forward with this.

But if they maybe fall back down to earth, if they lose in the first round, if it’s another, you know, four or five game first round loss, then I think you have to take a deeper look at the core of this group and does it make sense together.

So it’s tough to say that without knowing how the season is going to play out.

with that said, I think at this point, of his career, it’d be difficult to want to commit to more than like, you know, one-year deal, maybe one plus one, something like that.

You, you obviously don’t wanna sign him to like a thr- yeah, I There’s also rules that limit that.

But, I think it really depends how the rest of the season goes and how much he’s willing to accept, because I, I don’t think the Lakers are gonna be looking to pay him 50-plus million dollars again.

LeBron James is still playing at an ‘all-star level’

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