For the first time in his illustrious 23-year career, LeBron James, 41, is showing signs of slowing down. The Los Angeles Lakers star is averaging career lows in points (20.3), rebounds (4.9) and free-throw percentage (.654), and his fewest assists per game (6.5) since the 2005-06 season.
Furthermore, he has been a defensive liability for the Lakers, ranking dead-last in defensive rating (119.8), opponent FG% (50.1) and net rating (-5.6) among players averaging at least 18 minutes, and third-lowest overall. Even more worryingly, the Lakers’ offensive rating (117.1 to 114.2), defensive rating (117.8 to 119.8) and net rating (-0.6 to -5.6) have all plummeted with James on the floor in his 15 games thus far.
While James — not averaging at least 20/5/5 for the first time in his career — is still a top-20ish player, former All-Star Jeff Teague can’t bear to see a compromised version of the player who destroyed his Atlanta Hawks several times in the playoffs.
Should LeBron James Retire?
“He gotta retire this year,” Teague said of James on his “Club 520” podcast.
When reminded by his co-hosts that James was still averaging 20 points on 50% shooting in his 23rd season, Teague doubled down on his sentiment.
“I can’t see ‘Bron having rookie stats no more,” Teague said. “That’s just not good for my love of the game. He’s too good a player and too legendary — I never wanted him to have Michael Jordan stats at the end of his career. This is Wizards Mike right here.”
Further to Teague’s point, Michael Jordan averaged a career-low 20.0 points in his last year with the Washington Wizards, resembling a shell of his once-great self.
Lakers Stunk it Up in December
One of the criticisms leveled against James has been his inability to impact winning, much like Jordan during his final year in Washington.
The most obvious number to illustrate that is that the Lakers are 11-5 without James and 9-6 with him thus far in the 2025-26 season. But if one dives deeper into the numbers, it’s painfully obvious that “The King” has been a net-negative for the Lakers, who were outscored by 9.4 points per 100 possessions with him in December.
Granted, James isn’t solely to blame for the Lakers’ issues. JJ Redick’s injury-ravaged team has been forced to use 17 different starting units through 31 games, while lacking the personnel of defensive-minded players to compete with elite squads. The Lakers (5-7) were so terrible in December that they ranked 22nd in WIN%, 24th in points, dead-last in assists and 26th in defensive rating.
It’s worth noting that all those metrics progressively worsened after James returned from his sciatica on Nov. 18. To that end, the Lakers averaged 112.4 points and 22.8 assists in December — significant drops from 120.6 and 26.1, respectively, in November.
Will LeBron James retire after the 2025-26 season? While the NBA’s all-time leading scorer has yet to provide a definitive answer, most insiders close to him expect him to return for at least one more season, possibly with a team not named the Lakers.
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