LeBron James was selected in the famous draft in 2003. He was selected first, followed immediately by Draco Milicic to Detroit. Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were later selected. In this draft you can also find Boris Diaw, Andrew Barbosa, Carlos Delfino and Kendrick Perkins, who a few weeks ago spoke of his appreciation for James, who continues to play at a high level while he himself is deep into his second career as a commentator. And there were also Europeans like Machai Lampe and Sani Bechirovitch.
You guessed it, of the 58 names selected in the 2003 draft, James is the only active player left to dribble on the floor. Luke Walton, who was selected in the 32nd place, became a coach a long time ago, and even got to guide James himself. Until a few months ago, Carmelo was the only one who somehow managed to stay in the league, but even that happened as a supplementary player who gets minutes here and there. Dwight Howard, who was elected first in 2004, was also in a similar situation last year, but currently stars only in China (and still manages to drive the audience crazy, it must be said). LeBron not only plays in the best league in the world, but also leads his team in every possible measure.
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On the way, he tries to achieve every possible record. True, he is still far from the all-time points record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but if he plays at least two more seasons as he plans to according to his contract with the Lakers, he will still get there. Still, it seems that there is one number that does worry him – the number of championships. So far James has “only” four of these. Far from Bill Russell’s record obviously (11), but also from Michael Jordan’s 6 – the player James aims to pass in the debate about the identity of the best of all time.
So when will he retire and will he do it with at least one more ring? There is no clear answer to this. Let’s start with the matter of retirement. Dennis Schroeder revealed that in the locker room, LeBron mentioned age 45 as a goal, much like the greatest football player of all time, Tom Brady. This is a reasonable number if you take into account the fact that James himself has mentioned many times, the fact that he would like to play alongside his two children, 18-year-old Broni and 15-year-old Bryce, when they enter the league. How relevant will he be until he reaches that age? It’s hard to tell, but if there’s a player who shouldn’t be underestimated, it’s probably King James.
In an era where Brady and others have proven how far you can go with proper nutrition and body preparation, this number is certainly possible. Vince Carter played until the age of 43 and if it weren’t for the shortening of the league due to the outbreak of the Corona virus in 2020, he would certainly have come close to Robert Parrish and Kevin Willis, who amazed with an extraordinary length of career in the 1980s. LeBron will surpass them all if he manages to stay in the league for another 7 years. He might even reach a song that is considered insurmountable, this is Nat Hickey, who played in the thirties and forties, when the league was nowhere near the professionalism it has today.
“I don’t want to play basketball just to play basketball”
When asked about the possibility that he will play until the age of 45, he answered this week LeBron: “I don’t have a number. As long as my head and soul are in it, I know I can keep going. If my head is ready, I’ll make sure my body is ready too.” So far everything is fine. But here another layer comes into play – lack of desire. One related to the fact that his team just can’t get up. And here James has less influence than he would like. After all, he had never been in a team so limited in terms of assets.
This profit includes the continuation of his quote from last Wednesday. “I am a winner and I want to win. I want to compete for a championship, that’s been my goal all along, from my beginnings as a 19-year-old kid coming into the league from Akron, Ohio. It took a while to get there, but once you get to those levels you want to keep winning titles or at least compete for them. Playing basketball just to play basketball is no longer in my DNA. We’ll see what happens in the next two years.”
But here’s the problem. The Lakers don’t have too much to give without completely ruining the club’s future. The team has no serious player to offer, no relevant draft pick (unless you really dig deep into the future). Just nothing and nothing. A book could be written about the mistakes made along the way. Ivica Zubac, for example, was traded for Mike Muscala. Kyle Kuzma and Kantavius Caldwell-Pope went for Russell Westbrook, while DeMar DeRozan could arrive as a free agent. And the president who is also the GM, Rob Plinkastill there.
“LeBron has committed to staying with us in the summer and we are committed to giving him a competitive team,” Plinka stated in September. Nothing has happened since then. In LA they were supposed to try to get stronger and it didn’t happen. Even to somehow get rid of the monstrous contract of Westbrook, who failed to connect with the team and became one of the most reviled players in the league, they did not succeed. Now it’s better for them to wait until the summer, then the contract will simply end. And it’s not that there is too much of an interesting market for free agents in 2023, certainly if you consider that all the future stars of the league are signed to long contracts.
On the way to a new constellation?
This season, Krypto.com Arena enjoyed some good games when Anthony Davis was healthy, but as long as the center continues to get injured all the time, the chance for a championship is simply non-existent. Plus, the West is just too powerful. Memphis has Jay Morant, Denver has Nikola Jokic, while Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas are still much stronger than the Lakers – even when the Purple-Yellows come up with a full lineup. Add to all of these the monstrous Zion Williamson of New Orleans and the Clippers, the city rival who has been looking great lately, and you will get an almost insurmountable evening.
This week, LeBron found himself dishing out compliments even to Sacramento, as he talked about properly building the roster around the team’s stars Domantas Sabonis and Da’Ron Fox. He may have simply hinted to his management then, like this week he hinted to his players that he expects them to excel, but the bottom line is that the Lakers really have nothing to sell. If James really wants another championship in the near future, while he is still playing at the highest levels, there is a situation where the only choice left for him is to simply move to another team.
It’s not that simple either. In Cleveland he won the title of Rookie of the Season and later also brought a championship ring and MVP of the final series. In Miami he won two championships and MVP finals titles. In Los Angeles, he did become the first to win Finals MVP honors on three different teams, but he also missed the playoffs two years in a row and was eliminated in the first round for the first time ever. “He left the Cubs, left the Heat, left the Cubs again. LeBron can’t join the All-Star team again, because he’s done it before,” claims the veteran journalist, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Rousseau.
“If he wants another ring, it has to happen in LA. I don’t think many people will understand a move to leave, if he suddenly joins Steph Curry or something like that. There may be those who will be enthusiastic about it, but for many fans he must stay in the City of Angels. He made his bed and he will have to sleep in it.”
Power rating
10. Miami (new entry, balance: 17:18)
The Heat crossed the .500 line for the first time this season and did it in style against the Lakers. LeBron James had six turnovers and his guys followed with a total of 24. Miami, on the other hand, only had five turnovers, almost all of them in the closing minutes when the game was over. Erik Spoelstra is starting to get output from Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero, who stated this week that he is not “just a player who hits threes”…
9. Memphis (previously ranked 7, balance: 13:21)
The Grizzlies are unable to maintain stability, even though the staff is relatively healthy and all the stars are at the disposal of coach Taylor Jenkins. After losses to Phoenix and Golden State came a nice victory over Toronto, with the help of a career-high 19 assists for Ja Morant. A negative streak of four losses in five games is stopped, but we will see where Memphis goes from here.
8. Milwaukee (previously ranked 3. Balance: 12:22)
It’s unclear what’s not working right now in Milwaukee, but with four straight losses, maybe someone in Wisconsin should start worrying. “We haven’t grown up”, he admitted Yannis Antetokounmpo After the loss to Boston on Christmas. “We need to go back to video and see what doesn’t work against them. We must find solutions for their substitutions and be more effective in defense and attack.”
7. Dallas (previously ranked 10th, balance: 16:20)
Just this week, a new statue was inaugurated outside the hall in Dallas in the image of Dirk Nowitzki. After the only 60-point, 20-rebound performance in history, Texas may start thinking about a new statue in the near future. Luka Doncic was simply unstoppable in the win over New York, driving the net crazy. His post-game interview (“I’m tired. Maybe I need a beer to recover”), became just as iconic and sent a brewery in Slovenia to propose a new model inspired by him. He continued this performance with an eighth triple double that included a streak of 35-13-12. Luca Magic at its best.
6. Los Angeles Clippers (new entry, balance: 16:21)
As part of the management of the loads on Kawhi Leonard, he will be selected to play in the first of two back-to-back meetings. This week he chose to sit out against Detroit and play in Toronto. “I wanted the fans to see me play,” said the superstar who brought the city the only championship in its history in 2019. “I have good memories of this hall.” So Leonard was actually not at his peak in that game, but Norman Powell, another star who wore the dinosaur jersey, actually celebrated with 22 points and some important clutch baskets. The Clippers are already 7 out of 10 and look good for a return to the top of the West.
5. Philadelphia (re-entry, balance: 13:20)
Even in their weak game, Philly almost managed to beat Washington. But you have to remember – specifically the Wizards and Danny Avdia, who also provided a critical defensive move Joel Embiid In the closing minutes, they were the ones who stopped a run of eight consecutive victories with the impressive ability of Embiid and James Harden who became a never-ending assist machine. “They are a better team than their record shows, but we shouldn’t have lost this game. We just didn’t arrive,” admitted the mighty center. It’s okay, his team is still on great momentum.
4. Denver (previously ranked 10th, balance: 12:22)
Nikola Jokic recorded triple double number 83 in his career this week. An incredible achievement by all accounts, but in the great period experienced by Denver (they have won 8 of the last ten games), there are probably others who excel as well. Michael Porter Jr., a player who is always fun to watch, celebrated with 30 for Sacramento. Jamal Murray bounced back and delivered 25 in wins over Portland and Sacramento, but the show was stolen by the never-to-be-proclaimed dunk king, Aaron Gordon. His dunk in the closing seconds against Phoenix
3. Boston (previously ranked 1, balance: 10:25)
The drop in ranking did not necessarily come because of the drop in ability. Boston can still beat anyone in its path if it wants to, but after losses to Orlando (twice) and Indiana, two invitational opponents came for the Greens that woke the team up. The first was the main rival for the leadership of the East – Milwaukee. It ended at 21, but could have been a lot worse for Yannis and his teammates. The second is the Los Angeles Clippers, in a game that could have ended in a loss if not for Derrick White’s clutch ability. Yes, they are just that good.
2. New Orleans (previously ranked 2, balance: 12:22)
Zion Williamson is starting to scare the whole league and New Orleans is jumping to new heights in the West. Williamson scored all 14 points in the win over Minnesota. “The coach told us to give the ball to Zion and move out of the way,” he said CJ McCollum after the game Williamson himself proved that he is a winner and showed sides that we have not seen from him on the way to 41 points and another dominant performance.
1. Brooklyn (previously ranked 6, balance: 12:23)
A huge leap forward for Jacques Vaughan’s team, which has just been playing beautiful and efficient basketball lately. “What’s the secret? We believe in our ability to win every game, regardless of how it develops. This is something that did not happen at the beginning of the season and started to take shape in the last few weeks,” he claims Kevin Durant. So how long will this ability last? We’ll see that, but with 10 in a row it’s hard to argue.
