LeBron James’ motto, “Striving for Greatness”, is still in full effect. The 35-year-old superstar is continuously defying the odds on the court with each coming season. James is having an historic year and was being looked at as the potential MVP of the season. However, due to the unfortunate circumstances that have taken a toll on the sports world, there is one question still left unanswered. Will the halt of the NBA season affect Lebron’s legacy? The Los Angeles Lakers are the number one team in the NBA West and are having their best season since 2012. Their reason for success is partially relient on the success that LeBron James has accumulated this season.
James is currently averaging 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 10.6 assists per game. The Lakers record is currently 49-14. They were favorites to become the NBA champions this season, but due to the coronavirus pandemic there are a lot of teams who are given time for their superstars to recover and hopefully become contenders. Take the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers for example. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a reported left knee injury on March 11. Both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid both experienced back and shoulder problems going into the second half of the season but those problems will be resolved by the time the season starts up again.
The biggest problem with the coronavirus halting play may affect James’ career aspirations. He is currently sitting third on the all-time scoring list with 34,087 points. He is behind former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who is currently at 38,387 points and Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone who resides at 36,928 points. These records may hold the case in the future for LeBron wanting to be defined as the greatest to ever play, but he would need to top the list in this category to have a bigger claim to the throne. That is where the impact of the virus might halt the “King’s” efforts to attain the scoring crown.
There is always a debate regarding the old players and new players. The top two on almost everyone’s lists are Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The majority has Jordan as their all-time great due to the numerous accomplishments he possesses. Jordan is a 6-time NBA champion with a 6-0 track record in the Finals, a five time MVP, 6 time NBA Finals MVP, and he is a 9 time All-Defensive Team finalist. LeBron James is beating Jordan in every category statistically, yet why is he not labeled as the greatest to ever play? Many suggest his 3-6 Finals record will never allow him overthrow Jordan, but if he was able to get three more championships regardless of losses there would need to be a vigorous debate on this topic.
LeBron James’s legacy will never be questioned. He is an historic player and truly one of the greatest anyone has ever seen. But his case for being the best ever is what is in question. LeBron James has come to the back end of his career and now all he can do is use the rest of his time to achieve as many accolades as he can so his claim for being the best will not go away. In order for Lebron to achieve this goal he must match Jordan in MVPs, which he is currently one away from, and he needs to improve his finals record tremendously. The withdrawals that this season has faced may only cause the superstar to fade farther back into this competition. Only time will tell what the great LeBron James will do going forward.
