That’s the opinion of Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who claims missing this summer’s training camp has set him back.
The Cavaliers have suffered a poor start to the season, losing four of their last five matches.
The latest came in a home defeat to the New York Knicks where they were never close to clinching a win.
James finished with just 16 points but played for a team-high 39 minutes.
But he admitted after Cleveland’s season-opener against the Boston Celtics that he would need time to get back to his best.
An offseason elbow injury prompted James to tweak his shooting form and, although the four-time MVP has averaged 24.6 points per game, Cavaliers coach Lue believes the 32-year-old is still not at his best.
“He has to get in better shape,” Lue said.
“Missing the whole training camp and getting hurt the second day of practice really set him back as far as being able to fly around and push the pace offensively.
“He’s trying to work himself back into shape but the games are coming so fast and it’s hard to do that.
“The best way to do that, he said, is by playing more minutes to get into game shape and go from there.”