- Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recently stated that LeBron James will get his jersey retired by the Lakers
- Not everyone in Laker land has fully embraced James yet and there was some pushback over it
- One fan highlighted how unfair that is by comparing him with Wilt Chamberlain
Normally when a player leads a team to a championship, they tend to be adored by the fanbase for it. That hasn’t necessarily been the case for LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers, however.
When owner Jeanie Buss confirmed that James’ jersey would be retired by the team, some fans weren’t happy about it as they felt he hadn’t done enough yet. A Reddit user and Laker fan, u/LonzoBBBall, pointed out just how absurd that was by comparing what LeBron has done with the Lakers to what Wilt Chamberlain had done.
Not to mention LeBron has 2,000 more points as a Laker in 60 less games
by u/LonzoBBBall in lakers
LeBron has averaged 27.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 8.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 0.7 BPG as a Laker, while Wilt had put up 17.7 PPG, 19.2 RPG, and 4.2 APG in his five seasons with them.
Looking at their stats might not be the best way to compare these two, however. They had separate roles in the sense that Chamberlain had to focus on rebounding and defense while LeBron’s focus has been on the offensive end. They both performed at a very high level, though and that’s what matters.
One area where Wilt does have a clear edge is that he went to four Finals with the Lakers, but he did only win one title and for the Lakers, titles are what matters, not finishing second.
We also compared the careers of these two icons with the Lakers last year and came to the conclusion that James should get his jersey retired by them. When that happens, he will join Chamberlain and Pete Maravich as the only players to get their jerseys retired by three teams.
Could LeBron Get Both His Numbers Retired By The Lakers?
What might complicate matters a little bit here is that LeBron has worn both No. 6 and No. 23 with the Lakers. He wore six the last two seasons but is switching back to 23 next season, having previously worn it in his first three campaigns with the team.
Kobe Bryant did get both his numbers retired, but he’s obviously a very different case than LeBron. There are arguments to be made, though for both. He won that championship in 2020 when wearing 23, but he became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history while wearing six. Buss was asked about both jerseys being retired but she stated that it is a conversation for another day.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
