Paul Pierce thinks LeBron James should retire, but his reasoning behind that stance is a bit strange.
In a recent appearance on Kevin Garnett’s “KG Certified” podcast, Pierce voiced his opinion that James should call it quits now and not play another season. He believes James gets too much criticism and should just walk away from it.
“I think LeBron should retire,” Pierce said. “Just for the simple fact that at (his) age, he still receives the criticism that he still does. The greats weren’t getting this criticism. Nobody was criticizing Kobe when he wasn’t going to the playoffs in his last year. They were just enjoying his moments. Same with Jordan in Washington.”
James does receive his share of criticism, but there is an argument to be made that he is a better player now than Bryant and Jordan were in their final seasons. Plus, if James did decide to announce in advance that he was playing his final year as Bryant did, the way he is talked about might change. James, however, seems indifferent to that.
The biggest difference between James and the players Pierce is comparing him to, however, is the teams they were on. Bryant played his final season on a young rebuilding Lakers team that won just 17 games. James is playing with a team that also features Luka Doncic and has made clear that it expects to contend for championships. When expectations are higher, there will inevitably be more scrutiny.
It is not clear whether James will retire this offseason, but if he does, it probably won’t be for the reasons Pierce thinks he should. It is possible that he leaves the Lakers given how fed up he appears to be with some aspects of the organization.
