These days, people are living longer and aging more gracefully than in decades past. The trend is especially true in sports, where it is no longer unusual to see someone play 20 seasons as a pro athlete, especially in the NBA.

It’s one thing to be able to play that long, but it’s another to excel after so many years. LeBron James not only just finished his 21st NBA season, but he also was very productive, averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds a game while shooting 54% overall and a career-high 41% from 3-point range.

That production allowed him to set a record with 20 All-Star game selections and appearances, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. There is also a good chance the Los Angeles Lakers linchpin will be named to one of the three All-NBA teams for an unbelievable 20th time.

Yet former NBA head coach George Karl found an urge to throw shade at the 39-year-old by saying he’s no longer a superstar.

There are less than 10 superstars in the League today.

They are Joker, Luka, SGA, GA, Tatum, Joel and maybe still Steph.

LeBron was and ANT will be soon.

That’s it.

— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) May 18, 2024

Karl has been on a Laker-hating roll lately. He said the team’s 2020 world championship doesn’t count, and he implied Anthony Davis didn’t deserve to be named to the league’s 75th anniversary team.

On the other hand, Karl also recently said that he thought James is one of the game’s two best players along with Nikola Jokić, who was recently named the regular season MVP for the third time in four years.