Los Angeles Lakers: NBA Legend Makes Shocking Appeal to LeBron James After Disappointing 2024 Season

After the team’s abysmal first-round performance against the Denver Nuggets, plenty of questions surround the superstar’s future. Some suggest that he should move on from the Lakers and team up with another superstar. Others believe that he should try to stick it out with the Lakers.

Charles Barkley thinks he should quit while he’s ahead and cement a legacy that only a few players can match. He argued on a radio appearance that pursuing a fifth ring without tangible results to show would only damage the image of what is already an incredible career.

Per Basketball Forever’s Phil Stead:

“I hope he retires while he can still play,” Barkley said on ESPN Cleveland 850AM. “I saw Michael Jordan play with the [Washington] Wizards, and it was not pretty. I saw Patrick Ewing with the Orlando Magic. I would love to see LeBron James retire sooner rather than later.”

Barkley went on to say that there is a changing of the guard happening right before our eyes, since Kevin Durant, LeBron and Steph didn’t make it out of the first round.

“It ends badly for everybody,” Barkley said. “If you keep playing, there’s gonna be a time when Father Time is gonna kick you ass. He’s always gonna win. And the thing is, I hear these guys on TV comment, ‘Wow, he’s playing at such a high, high level,’ like he’s playing at a high level. Yeah, that’s true; he’s playing all right. But he’s playing with Anthony Davis in the play-in tournament. So what level is he actually playing at?”

Barkley will be the first to tell that LeBron is an incredible athlete. To amass a season average of 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists on 54% shooting and 41% from three against players more than a decade younger than him is a testament to his talent and dedication to the game.

However, winners know when to quit. Barkley is coming from a good place here: he doesn’t want a legacy that is already cemented as phenomenal to be tarnished with years of mediocrity as James struggles to carry the Los Angeles Lakers.

However, it’s still James’ career, and he’ll call it quits when he feels like it.