Do four players stand above the rest? SethPartnow reveals Tier 1. NBA Player Tiers:
certainly doesn’t provide the shooting, and the defensive impact of all of the Lakers’ moves is more likely to be negative than positive.
Maybe the league is more competitive than it was when LeBron previously dragged a group of oddly fitting teammates to a deep playoff run. Still, last season’s experience certainly suggests that James’ margin for error has dwindled. It’s a testament to his longevity of dominance that this statement could seem even vaguely surprising. He’ll be 38 in December. He’s second all-time in total minutes played, regular and postseason, and first in playoff minutes.
Some of the signs of decline are subtle. James remains remarkably efficient offensively on high volume. His rim attempt rate has declined slightly in recent years, but only slightly, and he is still a monstrously effective interior finisher. He had his best free throw shooting season in a decade in 2021-22. But he also had his lowest assist rate since he was 22. Some of that can be ascribed to worse-shooting teammates and sharing the floor with. James’ time of possession dropped from 19.
While the offensive decline was marginal, the same can’t be said about James’ defense. He ranked 527th in defensive RAPM, according to NBAShotCharts.com. The decline is less marked in metrics with a box score component such as EPM, since the rate at which he makes plays directly on the ball hasn’t changed much in terms of rebound, steal and block rates, but there is still a visible decline on that metric as well.
Perhaps the largest indicator of the passage of time is the increase in James’ injury frequency. He has missed an average of 21 games per season with the Lakers after only missing more than 10 games in a season once in his first 15 years in the league.Tier 1B: 5-6
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