Life without LeBron James will not be pleasant for the NBA.
That’s according to Kendrick Perkins, who said on “First Take” on Monday that if James retires, it’s going to leave a massive, unfillable hole in Adam Silver’s Association.
“Is the NBA ready for life without LeBron?” Perkins asked. “Hell no. Hell no.”
The former NBA champ explained for over two minutes on ESPN’s morning show that the league will suffer for a multitude of reasons if James calls it quits after this season.
“When you just go and look at his social media following, we’re talking about over 200-million-plus followers,” Perkins said. “Name me another athlete that’s coming close — or another basketball player, should I say — that’s coming close to that. We can’t.
“When you talk about packing out arenas on the road, LeBron James does that in every arena that they pull up in that’s not in [LA’s] Crypto.com. He’s been doing that for the last two-plus decades.”
Perkins also said James helps lift jersey and sneaker sales, and with a squeaky-clean off-court résumé, he’s a great role model, too.
“Do a lot of these guys, like a Victor Wembanyama or Anthony Edwards — do they have potential?” Perkins asked. “Absolutely. But let’s not sit up here and take for granted at all what this man has been through and what he has done.
“Hell, we come on television every damn day, and if LeBron James played the night before, damn it, we going to talk about LeBron James the next day.”
James has been in the NBA since 2003, and despite now being 41 years old, he’s still playing at an elite level, averaging 22 points per contest.
But speculation that he might retire this year has grown louder than ever, particularly after he wouldn’t commit to at least one more season while being peppered with questions about his future before Sunday’s All-Star Game at Intuit Dome in LA’s Inglewood.
“When I know, you guys will know,” James said of his basketball plans beyond 2026. “I don’t know. I have no idea.
“I just want to live, that’s all,” he added
James is currently in the final year of his contract with the Lakers, and if the star athlete opts for retirement instead of re-upping with Los Angeles or playing elsewhere, it’s clear Perkins thinks the entire landscape of the NBA will be drastically altered.
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