LeBron James is continuing to defy age as the Los Angeles Lakers look to take even more of a stranglehold on their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. He has orchestrated the Lakers' offense well, even with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves unavailable due to injury, scored when he has needed to and even played effective defense as they have taken a 2-0 series lead.
His recent play has made it evident that even though he could reportedly retire this offseason, he still likely has plenty of game left in his body. Rich Paul, his longtime friend and agent, said on his "Game Over" podcast that James could play five more seasons in the NBA if desired.
“I’ll tell you this, LeBron can play five more years,” Paul said. “He can play at least 28 years in the NBA. Now I personally think, and don’t kill me, Savannah, that he should play 25 years because he definitely has at least two more years in him. I’m not so sure that people, fans, we should be sitting here trying to push him out of the league. I don’t know about that.”
“You have to be very, very careful with that because when we get these opportunities, I don’t see anybody pushing Bruce Springsteen off the stage. I wouldn’t do that. I don’t want to do it selfishly. I don’t want to do it.”
James, who is 41 years of age and in his record 23rd NBA season, averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game during the regular season. He gracefully accepted a lesser role as L.A.'s third scoring option behind Doncic and Reaves, but after Doncic and Reaves got hurt on April 2, he quickly shifted back to his customary role as the team's primary scoring threat.
He had 19 points and 13 assists in L.A.'s 107-98 Game 1 win while mostly looking to set up his teammates. In Game 2, he scored 28 points and dished off seven assists in a 101-94 victory. If the Lakers manage to win this series, something that seemed extremely unlikely less than a week ago, it would likely rank as one of the finer moments of James' career, given how short-handed they have been.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Rich Paul: LeBron James 'could play five more years' in the NBA