Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas now believes that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will “100 percent” have a statue with the Lakers.
Should LeBron James get a statue in LA 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ChVgGK3PH0
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) October 6, 2024
“LeBron James will have a statue at Staples because you’re not gonna have the No. 1 scorer in NBA history not there,” he said.
Arenas added that James may have a chance at getting a statue with three different teams — the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
“Cleveland’s gon’ give him one no matter what,” he said. “He can possibly be three. 100 percent sure he will have two because there’s no way Los Angeles don’t have him with the name.”
Arenas’ comments are particularly interesting because several months ago, he seemingly had a very different view.
Shannon Sharpe: “Do you believe the Lakers will a build a statue for LeBron James?”
Gilbert Arenas: “If his career stopped right now? Hell no. He don’t have enough accolades in the Laker uniform.” 👀
(via @NightcapShow_)pic.twitter.com/kuEeUV08Kg
— Hoops on 𝕏 (@Digits3Hoops) March 4, 2024
The best years of James’ career might’ve come before he joined the Lakers, but he has still been a dominant presence during his time with the Purple and Gold.
In six seasons with the team, he has earned six All-Star nods, six All-NBA selections and maintained strong averages of 27.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.
In addition, he has checked some legendary boxes during his time with the Lakers, helping them win the 2020 NBA Finals and then becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in the 2022-23 season.
While James’ MVP years came before he took his talents to Los Angeles, one could certainly argue that he has still done enough to be considered an all-time Lakers great.
The veteran also isn’t done yet. He’s about to begin a season in which he will make history by sharing the floor with his son, and he certainly has other goals on top of that, with championship contention presumably being one of them. James will turn 40 years old during the upcoming season but likely remains motivated to capture his fifth ring.
It’s anyone’s guess how much time the future Hall of Famer has left in the NBA, as even though he’s aging, he remains one of the top players in the sport. When he finally does decide to walk away from the game, some clarity will likely emerge (eventually) on whether or not the Lakers plan to honor him with a statue.
Of course, if he were to lead L.A. to another championship, that would certainly increase his odds of getting a statue, but it’s unclear if that’s in the cards.
