LeBron James firmly believes everything he achieves moving forward in his basketball career is just “extra credit” for him. When James spoke to the media after the first day of practice for the Los Angeles Lakers, he was asked if he had anything left to accomplish, and he made it clear he did not.
“Is there anything left for me to accomplish as a basketball player? … No,” LeBron said. “Everything else is extra credit. I’ll take it, I’ll take it though. I love it. I love what I do. But, I don’t need to. No. I got everything.”
LeBron:
“Is there anything left for me to accomplish as a basketball player? No. Everything else is extra credit. I’ll take it, I’ll take it though. I love it. I love what I do…I got everything.”
(via @LoJoMedia, h/t @LADEig)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 1, 2024
I don’t believe LeBron has anything left to prove at this point. The 20-time All-Star has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title in his career. He is also the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and his longevity is unlike anything we have ever seen.
All that said, I do believe LeBron has more to accomplish because he wants to go down as the greatest ever. While the 39-year-old has stated that he thinks he is already the GOAT, there are plenty who would disagree with him.
Michael Jordan is still the man widely regarded as the best to ever do it and LeBron is going to have to add to his resume to change that. Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and a DPOY award in his storied career.
In all, James still trails Jordan in seven major categories. So, I’d say there are things left for him to accomplish, even if he doesn’t believe that’s the case.
LeBron James Says There Is A Lot Of Gas Left In The Tank
LeBron will turn 40 in December this year, but he is still playing at a very high level. He shone for Team USA at the Olympics, with averages of 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game, and stated during media day that his performances in Paris showed him that he has a lot of gas left in the tank.
“At my age, the miles that I have, and to be able to play at the level I played at,” James said. “It gave me like … a sense of, ‘Okay, I do have a lot in the tank, a lot, and I can help a big part of a team win the ultimate whatever if it’s gold or if it’s a Larry O’Brien trophy or whatever the case may be. I can still get it done.’
“So that was pretty cool just from an individual standpoint to know that you can be out there with the best players in the world and still be able to have a big part of it, not only on the floor but off the floor too, so that was dope,” James concluded.
I think LeBron can still play at a fairly high level for a couple more years, which is an absurd thing to say about someone who is entering his 22nd season in the NBA. He averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2023-24 and I’d expect him to put up similar numbers next season.
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