The Minnesota Timberwolves have demolished the Los Angeles Lakers, 109-80, on the second night of a back-to-back, partly due to LeBron James' brutal first half where he bricked nearly every shot, scoring only five points on 2-10 shooting. Moreover, this poor show came after James went 0-9 from three against the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Still, he has played at a high level for 22 seasons, so offensive slumps like this have become a rarity, but as he turns 40 in December, could it also mean LeBron James is finally washed?

You can check out some of the evidence of LeBron's falloff with these replays from the aptly named BricksCenter on X, formerly Twitter.

This clip even suggests LeBron's suggestions of retirement might finally come true after this season.

The Lakers look old and washed

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against the Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) in the second quarter at Target Center.
© Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

For a good number of fans, the Purple and Gold are tough to watch sometimes because at times they play like an old team, slow-footed on defense and careless with the ball.

Moreover, they don't shoot the ball well enough to compensate for their lazy defense, as their last two blowout losses saw them give up 37 and 36 points to their opponents in a single quarter.

Against the Timberwolves, the Lakers gave up 34 points while scoring 24 in the second quarter, where they practically lost the game. Additionally, a good part of this recent loss is LeBron James bricking everything.

Of course, James has had practically more haters than fans, and they've all come out to celebrate his terrible performance.

First, @jakum77 said, “The end of LeBron has finally arrived! He is washed,” while Lakers fan account @SixthManJake added, “LeBron [James] is officially washed up. Might have to throw something on the grill.”

However, other fans came to his defense, such as @PhiHoops who said, “LeBron isn't washed, sure he's lost a step or two athletically, but he'd be so much better with the right weapons around him. His peers voted him as the best player in the Olympics just months ago lol.”

Through a meme, @HoodiiBron also made a case for the Lakers not to play LeBron all 82 games this season so he could preserve his energy for the playoffs. However, the roster simply is not good enough to rest him while winning enough games to qualify for the postseason at the same time.

Another meme, from @Kameron_Hay, isn't ready to admit that the so-called “Washed King” might have fallen off.

What now?

While the Lakers are a good team, they operate under the paradox of LeBron James still playing good enough to win games despite his age, which has proven unsustainable in their last two playoffs.

However, now people see the cracks beginning to show, though Rob Pelinka seems content to let LeBron retire without winning his fifth ring.