The 2024-25 season marked LeBron James‘ 22nd in the NBA, and he continued to be a dominant force on the court. James was rewarded for his play with a spot on the All-NBA Second Team, and his longevity is simply mind-boggling. That said, the 40-year-old is not considered the best player on his own team now.
That title on the Los Angeles Lakers is viewed as Luka Doncic’s, but Shaquille O’Neal would disagree with that. O’Neal played the “Break the stick” game with Overtime, where he had to break it if he heard a better player than James and didn’t do it for Doncic or even Giannis Antetokounmpo.
O’Neal didn’t seem to consider giving serious thought to breaking it when the likes of Doncic, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, and Victor Wembanyama were brought up. The 53-year-old did appear to strongly consider doing it when Antetokounmpo’s name came up, but decided to stick with James.
O’Neal finally broke the stick when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was mentioned next. His reasoning was quite simple, as he stated that Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP last season. Even if the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar hadn’t, you would still have to consider him to be the better player.
James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25. Those are impressive numbers, and the 21-time All-Star still has a big impact on games, but he is no longer in consideration for the title of best player in the NBA. Antetokounmpo and Doncic, on the other hand, are.
Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024-25. He made the All-NBA First Team for the seventh year in a row and finished in the top three in MVP voting for the third time in the last four years.
Doncic, meanwhile, wasn’t quite at his best, but still put up 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game for the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. The Slovenian had made the All-NBA First Team five years in a row, coming into last season, but wasn’t eligible to make it again after playing just 50 games due to injuries.
As for James, he last made the All-NBA First Team in 2019-20, and that was also the last time he finished in the top three in MVP voting. So, it’s really hard to make an argument for him to be better than Doncic and Antetokounmpo.
James is still amazing, but he is just not on the same level as Doncic and Antetokounmpo. There is no shame in that, of course. Someone in their 40s isn’t supposed to be in the conversation for best player in the world. The fact that he is even an All-NBA player is ridiculous.
Despite James still playing at a high level, though, his future with the Lakers is in doubt. It is believed that the team’s preferred scenario is letting his contract drop off their books after the 2025-26 season.
If true, this would be the first time in James’ career that a team isn’t doing everything possible to hold on to him. If he does hit the open market in 2026, there will be a lot of interest in his services.
Dallas Hoops Journal has reported that the Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Golden State Warriors will look to sign James. He would be a terrific addition for them or any other team, for that matter.
