LeBron James is, perhaps, the greatest basketball player ever. Over his 18-year career, the guy has broken countless records, achieved many feats, and has done almost everything there is to do as a player in the NBA.
Perhaps his greatest mark to date, however, is the amazing longevity of his game.
For almost two decades, the guy has dominated the sport with impressive consistency, always playing like one of the best and always leading his teams to the postseason.
Even now, at 36-years-old, he is one of the best players in the game and his team is going to be competing for a title next season.
Well, in a recent Instagram story post, Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal gave a nod to LeBron (and other sports icons) for their unprecedented longevity.
“Just 4 athletes that show age is just a number.”
Tom Brady (top right) is the NFL’s GOAT and has somehow managed to stay as a relevant and active quarterback at over 40-years-old.
Floyd Mayweather (bottom left) is a legendary boxer who, like the rest on this list, went on to achieve greatness well beyond the average age of his sport.
Karl Malone has a dark history, but nobody can take away what he was able to accomplish in his basketball career. As, perhaps, the only one who can rival LeBron in terms of battling Father Time, Malone is still the oldest player in NBA history to win the regular-season MVP award, at age 35 in 1999, during his 14th season.
LeBron has already overcome the norm, and his story is still being written. In fact, if he continues down his current trajectory, his case for the GOAT is going to get pretty hard to deny.
“He’s gonna have four rings, you already pass up Kobe, you already passed up Mike, now you pass up Kareem,” said Shaq. “So if that doesn’t make him the greatest basketball player, I don’t know what we’re talking about. It’s always gonna be Mike, gonna be Kobe, and then probably LeBron.”
It will be interesting to see what more LeBron is able to do with the time he has left in this league.
But as he continues to put on a display of greatness, the world will continue to stand back in awe.
