The recent pace of play of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James may have onlookers worried about how he will be faring for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. On Monday, Nov. 24, the latest episode of “The Hoop Collective” podcast, hosted by ESPN analyst and NBA insider Brian Windhorst, was uploaded to the “NBA on ESPN” YouTube channel and featured guest analysts Tim McMahon and Tim Bontemps.
McMahon pointed out how great the 2025-26 Lakers have been so far in a stacked Western Conference, even with James not playing up to his usual standard. McMahon went on to explain that James is not moving like he used to, which may be a cause for Los Angeles to look at it more closely, given his age, timeline, and recent injury.
“I can tell you LeBron is playing transition defense like most his age do, which is occasionally. I’m just like, you know, he talked about, what did he tell Mac, Tim and the crew? Something about getting his, he’s got his baby lungs now, he’s got to get his grown man lungs like seriously, there are many positions where he’s not in tact on defense…Well whatever it is, he ain’t crossing half-court on a lot of defensive possessions,” McMahon explained. (49:57)
“And, we’ll see. He obviously wasn’t able to train while he was dealing with the sciatica, like he usually does. He’s got to get in shape, and we’ll find out,” he added.
James recently returned from the left sciatica injury that had him sit out the first 14 games this year for coach JJ Redick‘s Lakers. He made his triumphant return on Nov. 18, against coach Will Hardy’s Utah Jazz, in which he scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, to go along with a game-high 12 assists, three rebounds, and a steal in 30 minutes of playing time.
Read More: Amid Own Questions, LeBron James Issues Clear Advice to Chris Paul on Retirement
LeBron James Is Playing Out His Record 23rd Season In The NBA
When LeBron James made his 2025-26 season debut in the aforementioned game against the Utah Jazz, he made history by becoming the first player in NBA history to play 23 seasons in the league.
James has not missed a year in the NBA since he was drafted in 2003, as evidenced by his record, which shows his consistent style of play. Nevertheless, there will be several spectators waiting to see how he fares, given that he is turning 41 next month.
The Lakers currently sit as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 12-4 overall record.
Also Read: LeBron James Explains How “Dangerous” Stephen Curry Is While Comparing Shohei Ohtani With Warriors Legend
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