LeBron James urged to 'retire' from NBA and stop 'damaging his legacy' with LA Lakers

LeBron James could be entering his 22nd season in the NBA. Cr. Getty.

NBA legend LeBron James has been told to end his playing career in order to preserve his status as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

LeBron James should call time on his NBA career in order to preserve his legacy, claims former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins.

The 39-year-old saw his NBA play off season ended swiftly last month when the Los Angeles Lakers were beaten 4-1 in the quarter finals by Denver Nuggets, which prompted Perkins to urge James to retire from the game.

“At the end of the day, I hate to say it, but I believe this in my soul right now - I wish LeBron James would retire,” Perkins told ESPN.

The former Boston Celtics player believes the Lakers superstar must not enter his 22nd year as a professional basketball player, believing his will risk his reputation as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

“It is not because I don't want to see more of LeBron James, not because I don't appreciate LeBron James,” Kendrick said. “I honestly believe deep down inside, the more LeBron James continues to play the game of basketball, the more it's going to hurt his legacy and the more it's going to continue to hurt his GOAT (greatest of all time) argument.”

James and his Lakers team mates have struggled in recent years. Since winning the NBA championship in 2020, they have been eliminated in the first round twice and even missed the postseason in 2022 before this season’s early exit. Head coach Darvin Ham was fired following the recent series loss to the Nuggets and took strong criticism for the heavy defeat.

However, with James a four time NBA championship winner, Perkins believes people will now expect more from James despite his advancing years as the Lakers look to improve on a disappointing campaign.

“As long as he steps foot on that floor, every single season, there's gonna expectations of him winning a championship,” Perkins insisted. 'And when he don't do that, we're gonna be looking at him saying: 'Well what happened now?.

“So now you're looking at the Lakers, they're most likely going to re-sign LeBron James this upcoming season. If they don't make it to the Finals or the Western Conference Finals, who's going to be to blame then? I got a problem, man. And I'm telling you, I'm torn between the two.”