On Wednesday evening, the Lakers hosted the Spurs for the knockout round of the Emirates NBA Cup. Despite being at full strength vs. San Antonio, the Lakers lost 132-119. The team is now 17-7 in 2025-26.
Forty-year-old LeBron James stuffed the stat sheet for Los Angeles. He finished the game with 19 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks. Luka Doncic led the team offensively with 35 points. Former NBA champion Paul Pierce is a co-host on a podcast called No Fouls Given. On the latest episode, Pierce said that he could guard this version of LeBron James.
Does Paul Pierce seriously believe he can guard LeBron James?
Paul Pierce says he could guard this version of LeBron right now 👀
(🎥 @NFGShow / https://t.co/d5TOsx9cE1) pic.twitter.com/o2MIYBA7jE
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 10, 2025
The 2025-26 season is year 23 for LeBron James. That is a new all-time NBA record for most seasons played in a career. James continues to etch his name in the record books. To begin the year, James was dealing with sciatica on his right side. King James was forced to miss the first 14 games of the season for Los Angeles. In total, he’s missed 16 games for the Lakers so far. At the end of December, James will turn 41.
While his overall production has taken a slight dip this season, James is doing what he can for Los Angeles. His 16.5 points per game in 2025-26 is far and away the lowest of his career. However, James is still an explosive athlete. We saw that on Thursday night vs. the Spurs. The 21-time all-star threw down a vicious dunk of San Antonio’s Luke Kornet.
“OHHHH LEBRON JAMES… A FEROCIOUS FLUSH!”
ABSOLUTE POSTER.
And the block on the other end… tap to watch on Prime: https://t.co/7Xzi9OenaC pic.twitter.com/irV3nS4lEZ
— NBA (@NBA) December 11, 2025
Despite seeing James still play at a high level, Paul Pierce is not convinced. The Hall of Fame SF has been retired for nine seasons and is 48 years old. On the No Fouls Given podcast, Pierce said he could guard the 2025-26 version of LeBron James. It’s worth noting that Paul Pierce couldn’t help but laugh when he said that to his co-hosts, Danny Green and Big Wos.
He even joked about which version of James he could guard. Pierce said he couldn’t take James against the Sixers when he scored 29 points. However, Pierce laughed and said he could guard LeBron when he scored eight points vs. the Raptors.
In the end, this is some playful humor from Paul Pierce. Deep down, he knows he cannot guard LeBron James. While they are both in their 40s, James is still a professional, and Pierce has been removed for nearly a decade. It would not end well for Pierce if he tried to guard LeBron in 2025-26.
