Colin Cowherd Doesn’t Think LeBron James Is An ‘A-Plus’ Player Anymore

Is LeBron James past his prime?

With his Cleveland Cavaliers once again trailing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, that seemingly far-fetched question deserves consideration. James managed just 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting Sunday in Cleveland’s blowout Game 2 loss, going 1-for-5 from 3-point range and committing a team-high seven turnovers. Through 16 postseason games, he ranks a distant ninth in playoff scoring at 24.1 points per game.

Averaging 24 points per games, of course, is nothing to sneeze at, and James has been one of the postseason’s most efficient players, shooting 52.9 percent from the field while averaging 8.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. But when you’re a four-time NBA MVP with a reputation as one of the greatest players ever, the bar is set pretty high, and FOX Sports 1’s Colin Cowherd believes James is no longer reaching it.

“He is not as impactful as he used to be,” Cowherd said Monday on “The Herd,” his daily radio show. “And it’s not like I’m watching the end of an era — LeBron is going to remain in this league. But he reminds me a little bit now of a pitcher post-Tommy John surgery, or a really great pitcher in the last three years of his career. He can throw 97 (mph) about eight to 12 times. He’s not throwing it 35 times. … You’re not going to get a 45-point night from him. Those days are over.”

The 31-year-old actually put up better numbers this season than he did during the 2014-15 campaign, but the incredible feats of Stephen Curry, who has taken home the last two MVP trophies, have overshadowed James. Cowherd actually believes James deserves merit in that category, but still thinks the 12-time All-Star isn’t the player he used to be.

“I still think he’s the most valuable player in the league,” Cowherd said of James. “But the game has changed, and although he’s trying to change around it, he’s no longer an A-plus scorer and an A-plus defender and an A-plus, this, that and everything. He is really A-minus to B-plus at everything. He’s no longer Superman — he’s Batman.”

The Cavs need James to be every superhero imaginable if they want to claw back in this series, starting with Game 3 in Cleveland on Wednesday night.

Thumbnail photo via Cary Edmonson/USA TODAY Sports Images