Dan Le Batard: "Prudent Guess" Is LeBron's "Probably Doing Something to Get Some Help" [AUDIO]

Dan Le Batard discussed the miles on LeBron’s odometer on the local hour of his radio show today. He said that we are seeing a “lesser version of LeBron” who is “not any kind of threat” from the perimeter now, rendering him a “less versatile scorer.” Further, Le Batard said, LeBron is no longer a “piranha” on defense at the ends of games. Remember when he shut down Derrick Rose? Could he do that with Steph Curry now? (The audio of the segment is at the bottom of the page.)

Le Batard noted that this happens with athletes north of 30, and that LeBron is old for his age in the sense of minutes, playoff games, and the fact that his inordinate durability has prevented him from even getting rest while hurt. (It goes without saying that LeBron is still phenomenally good at basketball; it is possible for him to be both that, and diminished from his even better peak.)

A listener texted in to ask Le Batard if he’d blame LeBron for getting caught up in a theoretical HGH scandal. Slice Miami transcribed the answer:

"“No I would not,” Dan Le Batard said. “Not at all. I would understand. In fact if you had to guess on LeBron, you’re looking at someone who physically is different than anyone else you’ve ever seen in the history of the sports, the prudent guess is, yeah, he’s probably doing something to get some help there.”"

It would hardly be shocking if something did come out about LeBron, but Le Batard’s answer isn’t something you’d often hear said out loud (though, Bill Simmons has danced around the topic before) by a prominent media member. However, it seems rather unlikely that we will ever know one way or the other with certainty. As the segment concluded, there was also discussion that there could be gray areas pertaining to whether chemists are ahead of regulators.