Love him or hate him, LeBron James has been playing at a high level rarely seen for people approaching 40. 

In Year 22, James is averaging 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.1 assists in nearly 35 minutes per game. He remains a great playmaker with the ability to bully defenders in the paint. Moreover, the four-time NBA champion continues to set milestones and make records he already owns more difficult to reach. 

But, as has been with every athlete, Father Time is inevitable. 

Father Time shows up in various forms, with some facing a litany of injuries or a noticeable drop in performance. Some face it earlier than others, and the fortunate ones who encounter Father Time later on tend to go out on their own terms. 

James’ athleticism isn’t the same compared to a decade ago, but he is still a good athlete when compared to some of his peers. The numbers are still there, so there’s no need for him to be on the sidelines like some of his peers, who have taken on coaching jobs. The four-time NBA MVP’s decline, though, has revealed itself in his shooting. 

James has missed his last 19 3-point attempts and as the misses increased, so too did the attention to his slump. The Los Angeles Lakers were never really going to heavily rely on his 3-point shooting, but everyone knows the LeBron 3-pointer can be a backbreaking shot. Only this time, it’s Los Angeles that’s getting bogged down by James’ misses. 

Earlier in the season, James was knocking down 3-pointers at a good rate, converting on 44.4 percent of his 54 attempts through the first 10 games of the 2024-2025 regular season. During that span, he made at least 40 percent of his 3-point attempts in seven of those 10 games. Since then, however, he has only hit that mark twice, normally shooting below 30 percent from behind the 3-point line. Advanced stats have typically favored James, but this year his plus/minus of -111 is nearly double the next person’s (Max Christie is a -57 this season). 

There is a chance that James is simply going through a long slump and this dry spell could be a footnote in his storied career. But his struggles to reach this point certainly raises the case for age catching up to him. In recent years, the 20-time NBA All-Star has suffered various lower body injuries that have forced him to play in 70 regular season games just once. James was at his healthiest during the Lakers’ 2020 title run, where he played in 67 of Los Angeles’ 71 regular season games. So far, James hasn’t missed any of the Lakers’ games in 2024-2025 but Los Angeles would prefer to have his best performances even if it means he sits out a few games. 

We’re at the point Father Time is breathing down Lebron James’ neck, but it shouldn’t discount the fact that he is still a great player. The cracks in his armor may be revealing themselves, but knowing James’ approach to the game, he will keep fighting until the wheels come off.