For almost two decades now, LeBron James has ruled the NBA with an iron grip. Time and time again, he has proven to be cut above the normal crowd, using his unbelievable talent and mastery of the game to best the league’s best players.
For a long time, the media and fans rarely doubted him, and he was given the benefit of the doubt more times than not.
Today, things are starting to change. As he enters season 19, faith in James and his abilities is waning, and it’s starting to show.
In a recent article by ESPN, they gathered experts to predict the winners of various awards. LeBron James, who is a 4x MVP winner, was ranked 7th, behind Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Stephen Curry.
As weird as it is to see LeBron ranked 7th on any basketball list, this is hardly the first time his reign at the top has been questioned.
Not long ago, Kendrick Perkins (who is notorious for his love of LeBron) gave the “best player in the world” mantle to Kevin Durant.
“Here’s the thing… Kevin Durant IS the best player in the world and it’s about damn time somebody dethrone King James from being the best player in the world,” Perkins said to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports.
“We’re talking about a guy that’s going on Year 19. I don’t really know if LeBron James even cares about being the best player in the world anymore, going on at the age of 37, right? So, it’s about time that somebody finally stepped up to the plate and dethrone him because he’s been carrying the torch for so long.”
At 37-years-old, there are certainly some reasons to question whether or not LeBron will be able to keep pace with the NBA’s other top players, especially Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But don’t be surprised if the ‘King’ proves you wrong, just like he has countless times before.
