Is LeBron James slowing down in Philadelphia?
Mostly no: he shoots less because the 76ers have three other scorers. The one real sign of age is at the rim, where his dunks have nearly vanished: 4 tries in 7 games, after 94 in 60 games last season.
LeBron still lives at the rim, but he's finishing below league average there
| Zone | FG | Pct | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| At the rim | 26/41 | 63.4% | 66.2% |
| Paint | 5/15 | 33.3% | 44.1% |
| Midrange | 5/13 | 38.5% | 40.0% |
| Corner 3 | 0/4 | 0.0% | 35.4% |
| Above-break 3 | 6/19 | 31.6% | 34.4% |
[L]ate-stage LeBron still thrives at the rack: His combination of size, power, speed, and smarts still allows him to both create and convert layups and dunks better than almost anyone.
Kirk Goldsberry wrote that line in July, the week after LeBron signed with Philadelphia. Seven games in, LeBron is scoring 15.7 points a game, which would be the lowest of his career by five points.
Most of that drop is the 76ers' crowded offense, not age. But Goldsberry's point about the rim is where the shot chart pushes back.
He's shooting less because Philly has three other scorers
LeBron is playing the same minutes as last season (33 a game), he's just taking about two fewer shots. He's fourth on his own team in shots. Tyrese Maxey leads at 19.9 a game, and Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid both take more than 15.
That was the plan. Shams Charania reported the 76ers would use him at point guard for long stretches, and Tony Jones wrote that "his playmaking is easily the biggest way he can elevate this team." His passing hasn't changed: 7.4 assists a game, against 7.2 last season.
Goldsberry saw the volume drop coming. He noted that LeBron's 15.3 shots a game last season were the fewest of his career, and wrote that the number "could dip even lower next season in Philly." It has: he's down to 13.1.
Brian Windhorst likes how it's working. On the Hoop Collective this week, he credited Nick Nurse's offense: "You don't have to think about who gets shots." Philadelphia is 8-1, the best start in the East.
- His share of the team's plays fell from 27% to 23%.
- Fewer shots explain about 3 of the 5 points he's lost a game.
- The other 2 come from shooting worse, mostly right at the basket.
He's still attacking the basket, even more than last year
Goldsberry was right about where LeBron scores. He's living at the rim even more than he did with the Lakers: 45% of his shots now come within 3 feet, up from 37% last season.
He gets there just as often, too, about six tries at the rim a game, same as last year. He's taking fewer midrange jumpers, and about a quarter of his shots are still 3s. A player losing a step often drifts away from the paint, and he hasn't.
His jumper hasn't moved much either way. He's 6 of 23 from 3, but that's too few shots to read anything into.
His dunks have nearly disappeared, and that's the warning sign
The rim is where age shows up. Last season LeBron made 76% of his shots there, well above the league's 67%. This season he's at 63%, below the 66% an average NBA player makes.
Most of it is the dunks. About one in four of his tries at the rim last season were dunks (94 in 60 games, and he made 90). At that rate he'd have about 11 dunk tries this season, and he has 4.
Take the dunks out and his layups are only a little worse than last year (62% against 68%). What's missing is the easy finish, the play that used to end in a dunk and now ends in a layup.
It isn't a scorekeeping quirk. Around the league, dunks make up the same share of shots at the rim as last season, so the drop is his.
More of his shots are at the rim, but far fewer are dunks
Seven games can't settle it, so watch the dunks
He's below average at the rim, but seven games can't settle it. That's only 41 shots at the rim in seven games. Five more makes, about 10 points, would put him right back at last season's rate.
Wednesday's win at Detroit showed both sides. He took 10 shots, his fewest of the season, and still had 13 points, 8 assists and 10 rebounds.
But no dunks: he made three layups from about 4 feet and missed both tries right at the rim, one of them blocked. Our game page has the full breakdown.
Next up is Friday at Cleveland. If the dunks stay near zero over the next few weeks, that's age. If they come back, the 15.7 points a game is just the role.
The 76ers are also managing him: he has sat one game of each back-to-back so far, and they won both. Our NBA predictions and the hot-starts check cover the 76ers' record.
Questions people ask
Is LeBron James having the worst scoring season of his career?
So far, yes. He's averaging 15.7 points through 7 games for the 76ers. His previous low was 20.9, last season with the Lakers and as a rookie in 2003-04.
Why is LeBron scoring less with the 76ers?
Mostly role. He's fourth on the team in shots behind Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid. Shooting worse at the rim costs him about 2 more points a game.
Is LeBron James declining at 41?
One sign says maybe: 4 dunk tries in 7 games, after 94 in 60 last season, and he's below league average at the rim. Seven games is too few to be sure.
How many assists is LeBron averaging for Philadelphia?
7.4 a game through 7 games, slightly up from 7.2 last season with the Lakers. The 76ers are 6-1 in games he's played.
How we did this
Regular-season games only; last season's playoffs and this preseason are left out. Shot locations come from NBA tracking data, converted to feet from the hoop. "At the rim" is the restricted area, within about 3 feet. Dunks are shots tracking labels as dunks. Share of team plays is usage rate. The points split compares this season's output with what last season's shooting would give on this season's shot volume.