Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will serve as one of the captains in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game, and New York Knicks star Julius Randle wants to be on his team.
When talking with reporters recently, Randle offered a hilarious reason for why he wants to be on James’ team this coming weekend.
Julius Randle would like to play with LeBron James and Paul George at the All-Star Game. Why LeBron?
"It would be fun to do before he gets his old ass outta here" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/HPlgO6tGsh
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 15, 2023
Players have had ample opportunities to play alongside James in the annual All-Star Game. After all, the future Hall of Famer has been named an All-Star every single season of his career besides his rookie campaign. For Randle, however, this season’s All-Star Game will be just the second of his career.
Given the fact that James is 38 years old, Randle is wise to try to get the career moment out of the way now. James has made it clear that he plans to play in the NBA for a bit longer, but no one can ever truly predict the future.
When it comes to both players, there is no doubt that their All-Star selections were earned this season.
After a down season last year, Randle has once again helped lead the Knicks to playoff contention and is averaging 24.7 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season. He and guard Jalen Brunson have been impressive all season long for New York.
As for James, he’s been nothing short of incredible this season. He continues to rewrite the rules when it comes to how long an NBA player’s prime can be.
In 44 games this season, he’s averaged 30.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. If the Lakers were performing even slightly better in the Western Conference, it would be hard to keep him out of the MVP conversation.
Following the All-Star break, it’s going to take an MVP-caliber run by James and superstar teammate Anthony Davis to get the Lakers back into the playoff hunt. They’re currently the No. 13 seed in the Western Conference and are 2.5 games back from the No. 10 seed, the final spot that will book a ticket to the play-in tournament.
The good news for the Lakers is that the 10th-place Utah Jazz will play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. If the Lakers can win their game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday and get a loss from the Jazz, then the Lakers will be right back within striking range of that No. 10 spot.
