Even the most objective observer will admit that LeBron James has not been a good defensive player for at least five years. But the 40-year-old was still a serviceable help defender and weakside disruptor when surrounded by good athletes.
This season, though, James has regressed to a level of defensive liability for the Lakers. A large part of that reason is the team’s personnel. Last year, the Lakers had Anthony Davis for the first half of the season and Dorian Finney-Smith for the second, which helped mask their defensive issues. The latter was particularly crucial as he took on the main perimeter assignments, freeing up James to be a free safety of sorts.
The Lakers don’t have that luxury this year. While Marcus Smart has been their only net-positive defender, the former Defensive Player of the Year is an offensive liability for JJ Redick, shooting 4-of-20 from three over his last three games.
LeBron James Can’t Defend
LeBron James has the worst defensive rating for the Lakers this season, with opponents scoring 121.9 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor.
The 40-year-old also has the worst net rating among starters, with the Lakers getting outscored by 6.8 points per 100 possessions with him in the lineup.
James has also been a horrible defender in transition, with the Lakers allowing a team-worst 12.8 fast-break points per game in 13 games with him thus far. The same applies to metrics like points off turnovers (13.9) and second-chance points (11.2).
During the Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets, James had a team-worst plus/minus of -33, as he tallied 18 points and five assists in 33 minutes. He was so horrible defensively that Rockets guard Amen Thompson (67% FG) had a field day when the Lakers veteran was his primary defensive matchup.
Should LeBron James Retire?
As James continues to be a defensive liability for the Lakers — a team that has two other subpar perimeter defenders in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves — there are increasing calls from the NBA community for the four-time MVP to call it a day after this season.
“Like clockwork Lebron has the worst plus minus out of all the starters, just out there being a defensive liability with no impact on the game,” wrote one fan.
Another fan highlighted that the Lakers have a better record without James this season. To his point, JJ Redick’s team is 8-5 with James and 11-5 without him.
“The Lakers were better before LeBron came back. That’s just reality. Don’t ruin your holidays raging over this obvious truth,” wrote the fan.
One fan blamed James for the Lakers getting outscored 37-25 by the Rockets in the first quarter of Thursday’s game, which gave the away team the momentum.
“Lebron James has been a MASSIVE cone out there on defense,” he wrote. “He isn’t boxing out, won’t rotate, continues to just stand in the paint. It’s 5 vs 4 with him out there. Was a -20 after that first quarter.”
Several fans also called for James to retire.
“Bron is the Lakers downfall. Just retire so they can build a quality roster.”
LeBron James will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Several insiders expect him to play at least one more season, though it’s far from certain that he will be on the Lakers roster next season. The Lakers reportedly have ambitious plans for 2027 and intend to be very careful about their cap space.
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