If LeBron Misses the Playoffs, He'll Join a Small List of NBA Superstars That Missed the Playoffs in Their Prime
By Jason McIntyre
LeBron’s Lakers missed an opportunity to gain ground in the Western Conference playoff race with another loss Monday to an inferior team, falling to the Grizzlies. Luckily for the Lakers, the Spurs lost (again) and the Kings lost, but the Clippers won, so the Lakers will fall four games back of the 7th seed, and three games back of the 8th seed.
The Lakers have 22 games left.
The idea of LeBron missing the playoffs was unfathomable before the season began. He’d been to the Finals eight straight years – four in Miami, four in Cleveland – a modern day record. In fact, LeBron’s Lakers were in great position to be a threat in the West as recently as Christmas night, when they crushed the Warriors in Oracle and were 4th in the West.
But the win came at a cost – LeBron suffered a groin injury and proceeded to miss 18 games. LA went 6-12. They now find themselves potentially missing the playoffs, which would be a massive blow to postseason TV ratings and without question it would dent his legacy a bit.
I tried to compile a list of superstars in the modern era who missed the playoffs in their prime. It’s a very short list. Here is the list of stars who never missed the playoffs in their prime*:
Michael Jordan (sorry, the Wizards at age 38 wasn’t his prime)
Magic Johnson (nope, his 32-game stint at age 36 doesn’t count)
Larry Bird
Julius Erving
Tim Duncan
Shaq
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Clyde Drexler
Kevin Durant (injured in 2015 at the age 26, played just 27 games, and the Thunder missed the postseason)
Stephen Curry (injured in 2012 at the age of 23, missed 40 games – including the last 28 due to surgery and the Warriors missed the playoffs)
I could only find five superstars who missed the playoffs in their prime, and two of them involved serious injuries:
Kobe Bryant: At age 26 in 2005, Bryant was coming off the Colorado scandal and the court case, and dealing with fallout of Phil Jackson’s book ripping him. Kobe led the NBA in scoring (27.6 ppg in 66 games) but the Lakers missed the playoffs. But this wasn’t all about the supporting cast. He did have Lamar Odom and Caron Butler. LA was the worst defensive team in the NBA. It took Kobe 2.5 years to get Pau Gasol, who helped Kobe win two more titles.
Hakeem Olajuwon: At age 29, Olajuwon missed the playoffs. It was a tumultuous year for the Rockets, as they fired their coach, but Olajuwon was terrific. He played 70 games and averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds. Two years later, he won a title.
Charles Barkley: At age 24 – some will quibble if this was really his prime, but it certainly was, as he averaged 28-11 in 80 games and was named first team All-NBA – missed playoffs. It was his 4th season in the NBA.
Dwyane Wade: At age 26, he had a nagging knee injury and missed the final 21 games of the season and got surgery. The Heat missed the playoffs.
Dirk Nowitzki: At age 34, he missed the first 27 games of the 2013 season (32% of the season) and the Mavs missed the playoffs.
LeBron James has earned all the accolades he’s received for the last eight years. One of his most impressive records is that he’s never lost in the first round of the playoffs. Hell, he’s been to the playoffs for 13 straight seasons! But he will certainly be dinged if he is unable to get the Lakers to the playoffs this season, or if he gets there and goes down in the first round.
LeBron’s averaging 26-8-7 which is at or above what he’s averaged for his career. So he’s not having a down year – outside of the longest stretch of missed games in his career. Same with his shooting numbers (51/35/67, though his free throw percentage is currently a career-low). He’s still in his prime.
He’s got 22 games to get this group to the playoffs.
* We can debate “prime” for hours and not get a definitive answer. For the purposes of this piece, it’s on a case-by-case basis.