LeBron at 41: Insane or Admirable?

LeBron James is entering the free agency the way he’s entered most of his career – as the biggest name in the room. But this time around, the question isn’t where he’s going, it’s if he’s playing at all.

James is 41 and coming off a 23rd season that established the NBA’s all-time record for games played. He’s openly considering retirement vs one more push at a championship.

Whichever he ends up picking it’s the most honest referendum yet on what it actually looks like to chase greatness past your prime

The Numbers Still Stand

The decrease that skeptics forecast has not happened. James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game this past season, stats that would top most squads in the league, let alone come from a player old enough to have a son on his own team.

But the Lakers’ season concluded in a first-round upset of Houston, then a lopsided defeat to the defending-champion Thunder, and the real question now is: Is James still capable of raising a team to a title, or only capable of looking good doing so?

Decision With No Deadline

As usual, James isn’t rushing into things. “I still haven’t taken my family vacation and I won’t start to think about my future until later into July,” he declared flatly in his podcast The Game with Steve Nash.

That patience is a message in itself — a player who once paused entire free agency cycles in 2010 and 2014 obviously has no interest in being rushed to a verdict on his own legacy.

Still Balling

Very few in any sport continue to produce at this level this late in a career, and James has earned the right to write his own ending, not have it written for him.

If he stays with the Lakers, if he goes to a contender, if he walks away, the true accomplishment is that we're still talking about the impact of a 41 year old on the court