As the days go by, LeBron James is getting even closer to starting his 23rd NBA season. In doing so, he’ll become the first player ever to have played in 23 NBA seasons. The GOAT (Greatest of all time) debate is now pretty unanimously regarded as a one-on-one battle between him and Michael Jordan.
LeBron James is already the player with the most points ever scored in NBA history and is regarded as the player with the greatest longevity. So, if there are people who still don’t regard him as the GOAT, playing another season and enlarging his scoring record won’t really help his case. The question now arises as to what LeBron James is still playing for, and whether he can extend his legacy in the coming season.
What would help LeBron’s case for the GOAT debate?
LeBron James is a four-time NBA champion, four-time regular season MVP and four-time Finals MVP. These are probably the only awards that, if he were to win any of them again, would help his case for the GOAT debate. Now, in theory, the regular season MVP would be the most attainable of them all, seeing as the Lakers finished 3rd in the West last year and that would probably be high enough to consider him for the award. The only problem is, he’s past his prime and he would have to play at an insane level to get voted over Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
On the other hand, he could win the Finals MVP if the Lakers make the Finals. As unlikely as this sounds, the Lakers added Luka Dončić just last season to their roster. Every player needs some time to adjust to a new team, so if Luka Dončić is able to get back to his best and play close to the level he was playing at with the Mavericks, the Lakers might have a chance to make the Finals. If this happened, LeBron James would still have to outperform his teammate Luka Dončić in order to win the Finals MVP.
Having stated all the above, every basketball fan will tune in to see how the 2025/26 NBA season will affect LeBron James’ legacy.
Leave a comment