LeBron James will tie the length of his longest single-stint with a team if he returns to the Lakers next season, entering his seventh year on the franchise. In that time, he’s won a championship and Finals MVP but has had inconsistent success. As a result, Gilbert Arenas doesn’t think LeBron has achieved enough as a Laker to have the franchise build a statue for him outside the Crypto.com Arena.
“If his career stopped right now, hell no. He doesn’t have enough accolades in the Laker uniform. The closest statue we have like that is Shaq with eight years and three rings. It’s going to be hard to put him (LeBron) with six years, 8000 points, one championship, six All-Stars. That’s not good enough for a statue in Los Angeles. They could start with the shoes, they could start with the Bron’s out there.”
Shannon Sharpe: “Do you believe the Lakers will a build a statue for LeBron James?”
Gilbert Arenas: “If his career stopped right now? Hell no. He don’t have enough accolades in the Laker uniform.” 👀
(via @NightcapShow_) pic.twitter.com/U0z7KRW0hJ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 4, 2024
In his five-and-a-half years with the Lakers, LeBron has averaged 27.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. He’s notched many historic accomplishments in a Laker uniform, most crucially breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. He added another feather to his cap by becoming the first and only player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points scored.
James has won one championship, one Finals MVP, made six All-Star teams, one All-NBA First Team, one All-NBA Second Team, and three All-NBA Third Teams in his time with the franchise. He could add another All-NBA team to his resume this season, but the No. 10 seed Lakers don’t look likely to add a championship this season.
Shaquille O’Neal And Kendrick Perkins Think LeBron Deserves A Statue In LA
Shaquille O’Neal has been one of the more supportive Laker legends throughout LeBron’s stint with the franchise. He thinks LeBron’s statue is warranted for his role in the 2020 Championship, also sending a message to people that don’t count it because of the Orlando bubble.
“He did win a championship with the Lakers. A lot of people say that don’t count and if you can’t count his then you can’t count Mr. Tim Duncan’s bubble championship. That’s right, I said it! If you gonna count Tim Duncan’s bubble championship, you have to count LeBron’s.”
Kendrick Perkins recently went on a passionate rant explaining why LeBron indeed deserves a statue outside the Crypto.com Arena.
“I mean, get ready to start scoping the statue for LeBron outside of the Crypto.com arena. That’s what, okay? 40,000 points done in the Lakers uniform passing Kareem when he passed him up in the Lakers uniform, winning an NBA championship in the Lakers uniform, what else can I say about the man?”
Fans and analysts will be torn on this topic because LeBron’s achievements in a Laker jersey do ring hollow compared to other franchise legends like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kobe Bryant.
Nonetheless, James’ is a figure that transcends basketball and brought relevance back to the franchise after a few dark years at the end of Kobe Bryant’s tenure and the two years after his retirement until James joined. Both his jerseys could make it to the rafters, while a statue may soon adorn the arena, but it’ll be nice to see him justify that honor by bringing another title to LA, whether it’s this season or next.
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