LeBron James is nearing his 38th birthday, and he continues to produce at a high level, at least statistically.
Unfortunately, his Los Angeles Lakers aren’t producing, and they’re at least two pieces away from having a roster that could have a real shot at winning the NBA championship.
After his team’s 112-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, James mused about where he’s at in his career, and it seems that winning championships is still a high priority for him.
LeBron says he still wants to win championships: "I don't wanna finish my career playing at this level from a team aspect. I still want to compete for championships. I know what I can bring to any ball club with the right pieces."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) December 29, 2022
LeBron: "I wanna win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships. That's always been my passion…my goal. Once you get there and know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is just not in my DNA anymore."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) December 29, 2022
With Wednesday’s loss, the Lakers are now 14-21 and hold the third-worst record in the Western Conference. With the midway point of the season fast approaching, their chances of at least making the play-in tournament are quickly diminishing with each loss.
The team’s predicament has been magnified by the stress injury Anthony Davis recently suffered. It is currently unknown how much time he will miss, but there has been a recent update that states he will be out until at least mid-January.
James has won four world titles, but he is only 4-6 in the NBA Finals. It’s a record people, particularly his critics, use to either attack his legacy or argue that he doesn’t rank as high on the list of the greatest players ever as others think he does.
Winning another championship while still playing at a high level, especially if it were to happen with the Lakers, would elevate his legacy another notch and improve his argument as the greatest player of all time.
Everyone has been talking trade when it comes to the Lakers, but they have limited trade assets. In addition, if the team keeps struggling, and especially if Davis misses more than a few weeks, some would argue that making a trade would not be prudent.
At this point, other than surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the league’s all-time leading scorer, the only thing James can do to improve his legacy is to win more championships and not lose in the NBA Finals again.
