Kendrick Perkins insisted that LeBron James should retire to keep from further hurting his legacy and GOAT argument.

James and the Lakers recently fell to the Denver Nuggets in the postseason for the second straight year. After getting swept by the defending champions in the Conference Finals last season, Los Angeles fell to Nikola Jokic and co in five games in the opening round this year.

On Monday’s edition of First Take, Perkins went on a tangent about how James is hurting his legacy by prolonging his career despite playing well for his age.

‘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 said.

‘Not because I don’t want to see more of LeBron James, not because I don’t appreciate LeBron James,’ he continued. ‘But 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 argument.’

Kendrick Perkins wished LeBron James would retire to keep from hurting his legacy

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James' 21st season in the NBA ended with a 4-1 loss against the Nuggets in the opening round

James’ 21st season in the NBA ended with a 4-1 loss against the Nuggets in the opening round

Perkins argued further that James is hurting his GOAT argument by prolonging his career

Perkins argued further that James is hurting his GOAT argument by prolonging his career

Since winning the NBA title in 2020, the Lakers have been eliminated in the first round twice and missed the postseason in 2022. With four titles under his belt, Perkins emphasized how expectations will hover over James as long as he plays.

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

Additionally, the Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham after getting eliminated, as he took most of the blame for their losses.

With names such as Ty Lue and JJ Reddick being thrown around to potentially fill the vacancy, Perkins alluded to how they can’t cast blame on another coach if they fail to make the finals next season.

‘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.’