After listening to a podcast this week there was a discussion about LeBron being essentially the same player he always has been. One person tried to make that case, and another talked about how he wasn’t as athletic as he was at 25. To me, the athleticism part was a different conversation. It’s certainly true he’s not the same athletic force (or player) he once was. He’s game is different today, but you can still be doing highly valuable things on the court with less athleticism in different ways. He is still one of the best players in the NBA, just not the best by a significant margin like he was in his mid 20’s. Let’s take a look at each season of his career and rank them to try to understand what this version of LeBron is doing on the court and how it compares.
We will focus mostly on his individual play and less on team success. I know some have tried to make the championships the end all be all, but he can only control what he can control on the court. I don’t think you can judge him on team success when most of the last two seasons his best running mates have been Russell Westbrook (in steep decline) and players like Lonnie Walker or Malik Monk making about 5 million dollars when Anthony Davis is out. It’s a team that has been poorly constructed almost any great player would struggle to carry to wins without Davis.
It’s important to remember the NBA has evolved immensely in the last 20 seasons since LeBron has been in the league. The offense of today is far more efficient and has higher scoring and pace. For that reason, we will focus more on a metric like PER since it is a per-possession stat that is adjusted to the average of what the league was that season. That should cut through some of the disparity of the raw stats which look remarkably similar. There is a defensive aspect that isn’t captured, but it’s still one of the best comparison tools available. He can’t guard Ja Morant for example like he could a young MVP-caliber guard like Derek Rose when he was 26 years old. Offensively though while he may be less athletic I do believe he plays more physically than he did in the early part of his career.
| Age | PER | TS% | BPM | VORP | G | Min | Reb | Ast | Pts |
| 19 | 18.3 | 0.488 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 79 | 39.5 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 20.9 |
| 20 | 25.7 | 0.554 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 80 | 42.4 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 27.2 |
| 21 | 28.1 | 0.568 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 79 | 42.5 | 7 | 6.6 | 31.4 |
| 22 | 24.5 | 0.552 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 78 | 40.9 | 6.7 | 6 | 27.3 |
| 23 | 29.1 | 0.568 | 10.9 | 9.8 | 75 | 40.4 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 30 |
| 24 | 31.7 | 0.591 | 13.2 | 11.8 | 81 | 37.7 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 28.4 |
| 25 | 31.1 | 0.604 | 11.8 | 10.3 | 76 | 39 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 29.7 |
| 26 | 27.3 | 0.594 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 79 | 38.8 | 7.5 | 7 | 26.7 |
| 27 | 30.7 | 0.605 | 10.9 | 7.6 | 62 | 37.5 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 27.1 |
| 28 | 31.6 | 0.64 | 11.7 | 9.9 | 76 | 37.9 | 8 | 7.3 | 26.8 |
| 29 | 29.3 | 0.649 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 77 | 37.7 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 27.1 |
| 30 | 25.9 | 0.577 | 7.1 | 5.7 | 69 | 36.1 | 6 | 7.4 | 25.3 |
| 31 | 27.5 | 0.588 | 9 | 7.5 | 76 | 35.6 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 25.3 |
| 32 | 27 | 0.619 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 74 | 37.8 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 26.4 |
| 33 | 28.6 | 0.621 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 82 | 36.9 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 27.5 |
| 34 | 25.6 | 0.588 | 8 | 4.9 | 55 | 35.2 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 27.4 |
| 35 | 25.5 | 0.577 | 8.4 | 6.1 | 67 | 34.6 | 7.8 | 10.2 | 25.3 |
| 36 | 24.2 | 0.602 | 8.1 | 3.8 | 45 | 33.4 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 25 |
| 37 | 26.2 | 0.619 | 7.7 | 5.1 | 56 | 37.2 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 30.3 |
| 38 | 24.8 | 0.583 | 6 | 2.6 | 36 | 36.3 | 8.4 | 7 | 29 |
What becomes apparent in the statistics is LeBron was at the peak of his powers from age 24 to 28. There was the first year in Miami which is the outlier, but I believe that was more about comfort and learning to play with two other Hall of Famers than any regression.
Tier 1
| Age | PER | Reb | Ast | Pts | |
| 2008-09 | 24 | 31.7 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 28.4 |
| 2012-13 | 28 | 31.6 | 8 | 7.3 | 26.8 |
| 2009-10 | 25 | 31.1 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 29.7 |
| 2011-12 | 27 | 30.7 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 27.1 |
Tier 2
| Age | PER | Reb | Ast | Pts | |
| 2013-14 | 29 | 29.3 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 27.1 |
| 2007-08 | 23 | 29.1 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 30 |
| 2017-18 | 33 | 28.6 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 27.5 |
| 2005-06 | 21 | 28.1 | 7 | 6.6 | 31.4 |
| 2015-16 | 31 | 27.5 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 25.3 |
| 2010-11 | 26 | 27.3 | 7.5 | 7 | 26.7 |
| 2016-17 | 32 | 27 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 26.4 |
Tier 3
| Age | PER | Reb | Ast | Pts | |
| 2021-22 | 37 | 26.2 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 30.3 |
| 2014-15 | 30 | 25.9 | 6 | 7.4 | 25.3 |
| 2004-05 | 20 | 25.7 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 27.2 |
| 2018-19 | 34 | 25.6 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 27.4 |
| 2019-20 | 35 | 25.5 | 7.8 | 10.2 | 25.3 |
| 2022-23 | 38 | 24.8 | 8.4 | 7 | 29 |
| 2006-07 | 22 | 24.5 | 6.7 | 6 | 27.3 |
| 2020-21 | 36 | 24.2 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 25 |
Tier 4
| Age | PER | Reb | Ast | Pts | |
| 2003-04 | 19 | 18.3 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 20.9 |
I believe LeBron’s career can fit into three buckets. The clear peak from 24-28 which are all-time great historic type of seasons. The typical number one in the world type seasons is from ages 22 to 24 and 29 to 33. The stage he is currently in now is more your typical top 10 type of player. This encompasses his very early 20s and the mid to late 30s. He’s a much different player at 38 than 22, but a similar caliber one in my opinion. He’s just getting the job done in different ways. His first season is really the only season that is in a tier by itself unlike the others and that is to be expected as a teenager.
