Last year, LeBron James didn’t hold back when former players talked “s—” about the modern game. Now, on his podcast, the Lakers superstar seemingly took some shots at the ’80s and ’90s style of play. It caused a lot of uproar on social media, and even a 5x NBA champion made it clear that reasoning from Bron is all “excuses”.

In the latest episode of the ‘Mind The Game’ podcast, LeBron James spoke about the problems with the 65-game rule. The 4x NBA champion would go on to explain how much the game has changed since the Michael Jordan era back in the 1980-90s.

“I want people to understand that playing 82 games in the 80s and 90s is not the same as playing 82 games in the 2020s. It’s just not. The way we play, the level of pace, the speed at which we are playing, that is a different game now. A lot of soft tissue injuries are happening now because of it,” LeBron explained. But not everybody was a fan of this statement, not even former Lakers guard Ron Harper.

He simply tweeted, “These excuses is stupid.” Harper won 5 championships in 6 years with the Bulls and the Lakers. After winning three straight with the Bulls, he became part of the Lakers team at 36. It was his first year with the team, and he played 80 games and made 78 starts for the eventual NBA champions. He even started all 23 playoff games as well. Harper termed LeBron’s comments as excuses, since he saw what Michael Jordan was made of.

His Airness remained extremely durable throughout his career, playing 82 games in a season nine times, above 80 games in 11 seasons, and below the 75 mark only thrice across his 15-year-long NBA career. Let’s not discount that the current generation is getting better education about their health, medicine, and even their diets. But does better equipment, trainers, nutritionists, and private planes not take a toll on the human body?

That’s what LeBron James alluded to with his point. The game is much faster now. 29 out of 30 teams are averaging more than 100 possessions per game this season. To put matters into perspective, only 13 teams averaged 100 possessions per game back in the 2015-16 season, highlighting the change in speed, which has also brought different sorts of injuries to players.

James also acknowledged that older eras were known for physicality in the paint, but today’s NBA relies on constant movement, quicker transitions, and high-speed play across the entire court. Bron mentioned that when he joined the NBA in 2003, it was more of a slow-paced league. That changed when he moved to Miami, with the concept of Stretch 5 taking precedence. And we all know how the 3-point revolution has massively changed the game.

With so many miles on his body already, the risk of injury at this time of his career, along with the way the game is played, is high. So what does Bron think about retirement now? He even addressed that on the podcast.

LeBron James gets candid on retirement

The 41-year-old hasn’t shied away from Father Time. His eldest son plays alongside him, which in itself is incredible. After more than 20 years in the league, LeBron James has seen and survived everything the NBA can throw at a player. But lately, there have been moments where the weight of it all feels harder to shake.

“Bro, it’s very fascinating to me, and it’s kind of like weird too at times, like it’s times where I wake up on game days and I’ll be like, I don’t have it, man,” James told Tyrese Haliburton on the recent episode of his Mind the Game podcast. “I don’t have the energy, I’m tired. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to work up just what you need to get through a 48-minute game, or however long you’re on the floor.”

With sciatica flare-ups and arthritis in his left foot, LeBron James has decided to feature in some back-to-back games. Just the other night, the veteran forward put up 24 points, three assists, and five rebounds in his team’s win against the Chicago Bulls. The King knows he is reaching the twilight of his career. He has acknowledged it in multiple podcasts now that he’s trying to make the most of the time he has left.