That is the verdict of NBA legend Scottie Pippen, who thinks LeBron must do so for the good of the team’s playoff hopes.
The four-time MVP has been typically dominant in his few months in southern California as the talisman of Luke Walton’s team.
But the 33-year-old has had his minutes managed as the Lakers look to ensure they don’t develop an over-reliance on LeBron.
After scoring 38 points and adding nine rebounds and seven assists against the Indiana Pacers, James admitted getting the balance right of leading the Lakers and taking a step back has proven an issue so far.
He said: “That’s the challenge of things I’ve been kind of battling with since the season started. How much do I defer and allow some of our young guys to kind of try to figure it out, and how much do I try to take over games?
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“I think tonight was one of those instances where they looked at me and they wanted me to close the game.”
Yet Chicago Bulls icon and Hall of Famer Pippen believes that LeBron needs to begin to manage his usage more, even though he has averaged lower minutes than ever.
That’s with the Lakers’ playoff chances heavily reliant on having him fully fit and firing later in the regular season – with LeBron the Lakers’ leader in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals so far.
LeBron declared himself in October: “I’m always fresh. All my coaches want to figure out a way of how to lessen my minutes. I keep telling them I’m strong enough to play most minutes, but they won’t listen to me, so, it’s OK. I like it.”
And Pippen – a six-time NBA champion and seven-time All-Star – told The Jump on ESPN: “It’s tough for LeBron being the competitor he is to come into this situation and accept losing.
“There’s a lot of pressure when you play with the Lakers and being LeBron James, the history that has chased him that normally when he goes to a team they lose, he’s chasing demons. He doesn’t want to lose.
“But he does need to step back. It’s that time.
“Sixteen years in the game, it’s time to step back during the regular season and start to sort of pace yourself.
“But there’s an issue here. If he does try to pace himself they may not make the playoffs. For me, he needs to pick his moments here and there.
“It’s important for him to continue to keep his foot on the accelerator because he is one of the most dominant players on the court in terms of being able to defend him one-on-one as well as [Kevin] Durant.
“He has to stay being who he is but we’ve watched LeBron for 16 years play and there’s not a lot he can show us that we haven’t seen him do on the basketball court so I think he has to take it upon himself to pull back and allow these other players to develop a little bit. I know it’s hard for him.”
The Lakers are 12-9 as it stands ahead of taking on the Dallas Mavericks tonight (3.30am UK time tip-off/7.30pm PST).