For the third straight season, LeBron James will be the oldest player in the NBA. James will turn 41 years old on December 30, but it’s not his only longevity stat of the new season.
According to Keerthika Uthayakumar on X, formerly known as Twitter, there are 83 players on current rosters who were born after James made his NBA debut on October 29, 2003.
The number should become fluctuating due to players getting called up and down from the NBA G League throughout the season. Out of the 30 teams, the Washington Wizards have the most number of players who were born after James’ debut with eight.
On the other hand, the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets have zero players who were born after October 29, 2003. James’ own team, the Los Angeles Lakers, have three players on the list, headlined by Bronny James, who was born before the start of his father’s second season.
Rookie Adou Thiero and two-way player Nick Smith Jr. are also part of the 83-player list.
LeBron James To Miss Start of New Season
NBA fans will have to wait for at least three weeks before witnessing LeBron James make history again. James is set to become the first player in league history to play in 23 season. However, he was diagnosed with sciatica during training camp and has been ruled out for the rest of the month.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, James’ recovery timeline was longer than anticipated. The four-time NBA MVP was initially set to be re-evaluated at the end of the month, but he’s not expected to return until mid-November.
“I’m told that the Lakers and LeBron are looking around mid-November as a realistic debut for him. It is expected he will need at least a few weeks after that point. A source told me tonight that LeBron will be taking a ‘patient approach’ with this rehab from nerve injury, and so the ramp-up process for this will be a lot of basketball-shaped conditioning work,” Charania said.
“King James” didn’t have his usual offseason routine because of the injury. He was unable to ramp up his preparation and condition during the summer. And at his age, he’ll be wary of returning to soon since the Lakers would rather have him healthy in the playoffs.
Retirement For LeBron James After The Season
LeBron James teased his retirement earlier this month, which turned out to be just an advertisement for an alcoholic drink. James is entering the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The four-time NBA champ will also be 41 years old by that time, prompting his once rival and Hall of Famer Paul Pierce to make a claim about James’ future.
“I think this will be his last season. He’s accomplished so much. He’s played so long, and I truly believe that now, after everything he’s done, after doing things that have never been done in this game multiple times, he’s finally at peace with it,” Pierce said on Club Shay Shay.
James has not made a decision about his future, but he quickly shut down rumors of him waiting on Bryce James to join the NBA and possibly play with his second son.
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