The NBA Is Changing and LeBron Is Changing With It: A Reflective Look at Year 23
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For the first time in LeBron James’s career, the season started without him on the floor. That alone would have been a notable moment in NBA history, but paired with his recent performances, it feels like the league is quietly stepping into a future many of us have never experienced. This week on Harrison Talks Pod, I dedicated a full reflective segment to LeBron’s evolving place in the sport. What follows is the expanded blog version of that conversation.
This is not an obituary for LeBron’s career. It is a recognition of the subtle but unmistakable shift we are seeing across the league, inside the Lakers organization, and even in the way fans talk about him. If you want the deeper audio version with tone, context, and pacing, check out the full episode of Harrison Talks Pod linked at the end.
The First Real Signs of Decline Are Finally Here
LeBron’s season began with absence. Missing the start of the year for the first time ever created a symbolic shift. Availability cannot be taken for granted anymore.
His early games have looked mortal. Lower scoring. More hesitation. Less burst. More moments spent watching the action instead of driving it. For the first time in twenty years, NBA fans are experiencing what the league looks like when LeBron is not the fixed point everything else orbits around.
The Raptors Game Was the Full Duality of Year 23
LeBron’s historic double digit scoring streak ended at 1,297 regular season games. On paper it looks like a collapse. Eight points on 4 of 17 shooting. Zero threes. Limited lift. Limited separation.
Yet he completely controlled the game through playmaking. Eleven assists. Organizing the team. Managing pace. Making the right read for the game winning corner three. This game was the perfect snapshot of the LeBron we have now. A diminished scorer with a still elite basketball brain.
The reaction to this game also reminded me how polarized LeBron discourse remains. One night people accused him of stat padding to save his streak. The next night people were calling his kick out the greatest assist of his career. The extremes reveal more about the fans than they do about LeBron.
Austin Reaves scoring 44 in the same game underscored something bigger. The Lakers may be entering an era where LeBron is no longer option one or even option two. He is beginning to shift into the connective engine rather than the primary weapon.
The Celtics Loss Felt Like a Preview of a League Without LeBron
The next night, LeBron sat. Luka was also out. The Lakers and Celtics faced off without their stars and it felt strangely hollow.
Boston buried the Lakers with 24 made threes. The game was decided early. Reaves had another huge night, but the matchup lacked identity and emotional weight. It was the first real glimpse of what marquee NBA games might feel like when LeBron is no longer in them. For a generation of fans, myself included, the NBA has never existed without him. His absence is often more noticeable than his off nights.
LeBron’s Scoring Decline Is Becoming Harder to Ignore
The loss of burst and elevation is visible. The jumper looks less reliable. The threat of the drive is not what it used to be. Teams are defending him like a pass first creator instead of a scorer who can take over at any moment. That shift is significant.
There is always the possibility he ramps up by midseason like he has so many times before. He was All NBA 2nd Team just last year. But Year 23 has introduced the idea that his baseline production could finally be changing. While the odds of him consistently playing back to backs again feel slim, I have been wrong about LeBron at every point in his career.
The Parasocial Misreadings Are Louder Than Ever
One trend I talked about on the pod is how fans have become hilariously inconsistent with their LeBron criticism.
If he shoots more, he is selfish.
If he shoots less, he is washed.
If he celebrates teammates, it is performative.
If he does not, it is bad body language.
Both his biggest critics and biggest supporters reinterpret every possession in whatever way proves their preexisting viewpoint. The Raptors and Celtics games fed every possible narrative, even if the truth is somewhere in the middle.
The LeBron Hater Economy Is Not Going Anywhere
Some people genuinely wanted LeBron to take a bad, contested shot instead of making the game winning pass against Toronto. They would rather he make the wrong play so they can say the right thing on social media.
When he sat out against Boston, some immediately said the Lakers looked better without him, ignoring the fact that his presence stabilizes the entire offense. This is the strange ecosystem he has played inside for two decades. It has not changed.
The End of the Double Digit Streak Actually Means Something Symbolic
The streak was never going to be broken by anyone else. Ending it on a game winning assist feels oddly fitting. It marks a transition in his game.
For nearly two decades he could reliably give you twenty points a night without blinking. Now his scoring is less consistent, but his ability to read the game is still elite.
It might be a symbolic ending. A turning of the page.
The Lakers Are Learning To Win With Him Rather Than Through Him
Austin Reaves looks ready to take more responsibility. Ayton is providing stability inside. Hachimura keeps showing quiet efficiency. Younger pieces like Nick Smith Jr and LaRavia offer modern spacing and energy.
The Lakers’ wins and losses are starting to reflect team performance rather than LeBron’s individual output. That is not a criticism. It is the natural evolution of an aging superstar on a team learning to define itself beyond him.
Should This Be His Final Year?
It depends entirely on what LeBron wants his ending to look like.
If injuries continue to stack up, stepping away this year would make sense. If he wants a farewell tour, Year 24 has a perfect poetic hook with the Kobe number connection and with the NBA eager to celebrate him. If he wants to wait for his son or even his next son to enter the league, that path is open too.
Trying to predict LeBron’s timeline has never worked. He has broken every rule of aging and logic. What feels clear is that this season marks the beginning of the end, even if the ending is not here yet.
A Generational Passing of the Torch
Millions of fans share the experience of not knowing the NBA without LeBron James. His absence against Boston and his struggles against Toronto were not just box score moments. They reminded us that an era is fading. Not collapsing. Not ending abruptly.
The next generation is already writing its chapters. Luka. Giannis. Jokic. Shai. Tatum. Wemby soon enough.
And now we are watching the final chapters of the last superstar from the 2000s.
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