LeBron James was on a podcast with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the season, after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and the two superstars were discussing load management and the fans’ reaction to players taking time off.
James has already said that his body requires time off at the age of 41 and having played more seasons than anyone in NBA history. However, that’s also part of the reason why some fans believe he should retire rather than try to play a cat-and-mouse game with mother nature. Some might even call it “cheating the game.”
LeBron James Tells Fans It’s Harder to Play 82 Games In This Era
James says he wished the fans understood that according to his science, it’s much harder to get through the grind of an NBA season than it was back in the 80s.
LeBron James wants fans to understand it’s harder to play 82 games today than it was in the 80s or 90s 👀
“The game is different. I want people/our fans to understand playing 82 games in the 80s and 90s is not the same as playing 82 games in the 2020s. It’s just not. The way we… https://t.co/dbLaM8VgO7pic.twitter.com/G8LtPZd5pQ
“Because the game is different, I want people to understand and our fans to understand that playing 82 games in the 80s and 90s is not the same as playing 82 games in 2020. The way we play, the level of pace, the speed that we’re playing at it’s a different game now… it’s a totally different game.”
James later added:
“Guys with athleticism… myself, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, to name a couple guys… sometimes you are afraid to take off into the lane because there were four or five guys sitting in the paint. You land on somebody’s ankle and get a high ankle sprain. You’re out four to six weeks. Now you don’t really see that as much now because the game is spread open there’s so much pace and now you see the new high ankle sprain is the calf injury.”
James seemed to insinuate several things with his take. He says the game was easier to play because there weren’t as many athletic guys. He also says in the 80s there were four or five guys clogging the paint, not allowing for freedom of creativity and spacing.
Veteran Basketball Fans Take LeBron To Task
Some young heads agreed with LeBron as they always do. However some more seasoned veterans of watching the game took issue with LeBron’s statement and what they saw as false information.
“80s had the fastest paced seasons in NBA history and players didn’t fly 1st class. The problem with today’s players is that there’s less practice contact in the off-season. A lot of players today aren’t physically able to handle a full NBA season,” said one fan.
“This isn’t true at all,” laughed another fan. “It’s way easier to play nowadays, less contact, ticky tack phantom fouls abound. The flagrant foul is a joke now. More 3s, less physicality. SMH Diva Lebron at it again.”
“What a clown trying to rewrite the narrative yet again. You can not convince me with today’s tech, nutrition, and recovery programs that it is harder to play now than 40 years ago. Dude has never played in a pair of Chucks. Get outta here with that nonsense!” a third fan responded.
LeBron James (L) appeared on a podcast with Tyrese Haliburton (R) and said playing in today’s game is harder than in the 80s and 90s because of a faster pace, more athleticism and spacing. Fans disagreed. (Getty Images)
LeBron Says Players Have Worse Injuries To Be Concerned With Than In 80s and 90s
LeBron may have been era hustling with that comment, but he did make some valid points about the way injuries have evolved in this new NBA.
“There’s a lot of soft tissue injuries that are happening because of it and I hope we can get a handle on that as well. When I came into the league some of the biggest concerns of injuries are like a high ankle sprain, because you were afraid to step on somebody’s ankles because there were four or five guys sitting in the paint…The game is a little different and as NBA players we definitely want to be out there,” LeBron said.
