LeBron James has all the money that he will ever need.
But James’ attempt to surpass Michael Jordan as the NBA’s GOAT feels more and more like a late-career failure.
4 LeBron James has made it harder on himself to win another NBA titleCredit: Getty
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted James’ son, Bronny, to appease and keep The King happy.
A 39-year-old James recently agreed to a two-year, $104 maximum contract that won’t make upgrading JJ Redick’s average roster any easier.
The Lakers have been in decline with James draped in purple and gold, annually getting stomped by the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs and regularly firing head coaches.
Throw in the fact that the self-proclaimed greatest of all-time won his only NBA Finals with the Lake Show in a Florida bubble during the coronavirus pandemic, and James is a woeful 1-5 in the only stat that really matters.
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James didn’t take his talents to the forever home of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to get humbled 4-1 in the first round by a hobbling Jamal Murray and the Nuggets.
James was supposed to win championships with the Lakers.
4 James’ best bet is to win gold again this summer in Paris with Team USACredit: Getty
4 LeBron’s eldest son Bronny has joined him in LACredit: Getty
Not one. Not two. But title after title, dominating the league one last time before he dunked his way into a gorgeous sunset.
Yet James is now back in the same place where he’s so often been.
Play Video Throwback to when LeBron James’ free agency decision drastically changed the NBA and enraged fans across the league as he selected Miami Heat
A poor, inept head coach was torched by frustrated fans, while LeGM toyed with a microphone and teased that he might leave the city if he didn’t get exactly what he wants.
Darvin Ham found out how much power he actually held in star-obsessed Los Angeles.
None.
Ham was coldly fired, then the highly inexperienced Redick was hired, despite being the Lakers’ second choice and while being James’ podcast buddy.
“I’ve seen, heard a lot of reports about my future,” James tweeted, signing off with a crown emoji. “I said it last night and I’ll say it again. I do not know yet as I’m only thinking about spending time with my family & friends!
He was always going to re-sign with the Lakers — it was just more self-created drama from The King.
4 James flexed hard when he won his only championship with the LakersCredit: Getty
James’ career numbers are undeniably historic.
If being the NBA’s GOAT was defined by longevity, he would already hold the crown.
But Michael Jordan was modern athletic dominance in its purest form – even when MJ had a couple of weird years playing for some team known as the Washington Wizards in his late 30s.
James had to form a Big Three in Miami to finally win a title, was at his all-time best when he eventually realized that Cleveland was his real home, then chose the Lakers when everyone else knew that the Lakers weren’t really the Lakers anymore.
Since then, James hasn’t won an MVP and he’s no longer able to single-handedly carry a team through a two-month marathon filled with seven-game battles, round after round.
He has 20 All-Star selections, four rings, four Finals MVPs and 40,474 career points.
He could make almost $500 million more than Air Jordan on the hardwood by the time he finally leaves the NBA.
It’s amazing what James can accomplish with a ball in hand at 39.
But that’s as a gradually aging one-man show, not as the best player in The Association or the supreme leader of the best team in the NBA.
James is running out of pages in 2024.
