Charles Barkley wants LeBron James to retire sooner than later: "I saw Michael Jordan with the Wizards, and it wasn't pretty"
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LeBron James saw his season end in the first round against the Denver Nuggets. Despite that, the 39-year-old had a sensational year, averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game in the regular season. LeBron even turned it up a notch in the playoffs, putting up 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per contest.
Many praise the Los Angeles Lakers superstar for his performance in Year 21. However, Charles Barkley believes that LeBron shouldn’t take it as a reason to prolong his NBA career.
“I hope he retires while he can still play,” Barkley said. “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.”
The new era is here
LeBron had arguably the healthiest version of Anthony Davis this season, and the Lakers still ended up in the Play-in Tournament, which, according to Chuck, isn’t even the real thing because it’s just a cash grab by the NBA.
Barkley added that with LeBron, KD, and Steph not playing in the second round of the 2024 playoffs, we are already witnessing the proverbial changing of the guard. The likes of Jokic, SGA, Luka, Tatum, and Ant-Man have emerged as the new faces of the league, proving that the new era is here.
“It ends badly for everybody,” Chuck continued. “If you keep playing, there’s gonna be a time when Father Time is gonna kick you a**. 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?”
Two, three more years?
LeBron’s agent and close friend, Rich Paul, recently talked about the forward’s future. According to Paul, James still has two or three years left in the tank, so retirement should still be off the table for the 39-year-old, for now at least.
“My conversation with him is just have fun, just enjoy it. Because you got a lot fewer years to play than you’ve already played. So just enjoy the ride, man. It’s been a beautiful ride. Now, I think when all is said and done, there’ll be a bunch of people with a thousand stories of what he meant to the game. Some may have hated it. Some may have loved it. But that’s part of being a competitor. But I think he’s had an unbelievable career,” Paul said.
To his credit, LeBron had the best Year 21 in NBA history. Although the Lakers were eliminated again by the Nuggets, they gave the defending champions a great fight in every game.
That said, the new generation of players is taking the league by storm, and perhaps it would be best for James to get ahead of the curve and leave the game while he can still play.