Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has rebounded well from a slow start to the 2025-26 season, but The Ringer’s Zach Lowe thinks a fair few players have surpassed him by now. On the latest episode of The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe disagreed with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin’s assertion about James being one of the 12 best American players in the NBA today.
“I think that’s just not true anymore,” Lowe said. “… I’m just going through All-Star rosters right now. That’s where I’m starting. Cade [Cunningham], [Jalen] Brunson, Jaylen Brown, [Tyrese] Maxey, all been better than LeBron this season. LeBron’s played 24 games. His defense is what you’d expect from a 41-year-old.
“Donovan Mitchell’s been better,” Lowe continued. “Scottie Barnes has been better. Jalen Johnson has been better. That’s seven. Stephen Curry’s been better. Eight. [Anthony Edwards] has been better. Nine. [Kevin] Durant’s been better. 10. I think probably [Devin] Booker has been better. That’s 11. I think Chet [Holmgren] has been better. That’s 12.
“We haven’t even gotten to Kawhi [Leonard],” Lowe added. “This is like maximum giving LeBron the benefit of the doubt. Maximum. Like, well, if we’re talking about for one game, Game Seven of the Finals.”
McMenamin had stated that in response to James not being voted as a starter for the All-Star Game for the first time in 21 years. There is now some doubt about whether he will even make the roster.
The coaches are the ones who get to decide the reserves for the game, and it’s hard to predict the route they’ll take. James can actually get in even if they don’t select him, as NBA commissioner Adam Silver gets to pick replacements if someone gets injured. Only time will tell if he makes it.
Getting back to the topic at hand, it might be a bit premature to put all of these American players above James. Sure, he is 41 years old and is no longer the utterly dominant force he once was, but he is still playing at a fairly high level.
James’ averages for this season are 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. That isn’t great by his standards, but this is down to his slow start after missing the first 14 games of the campaign with sciatica. He needed time to get his feet under him and is playing better now. The numbers indicate that, too.
Over his last 19 outings, James has put up 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 53.4% from the field. You can argue that the slow start means he shouldn’t be an All-Star this season, but there aren’t 12 American players better than him even now.
Gilbert Arenas On Where LeBron James Ranks In The NBA Today
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas reacted to some “crazy” takes from fans on the latest episode of The Gilbert Arenas Show, and one of them involved James. A fan stated he is not a top 10 player in the NBA right now, and Arenas said that should be expected.
“Duh,” Arenas said. “He’s 41 years old. He should be right here doing what I’m doing. He is 41. Of course, Mr. Obvious, he’s not a Top 10 player right now… I would expect in the NBA, the biggest stage on earth, that a 41-year-old wouldn’t be Top 10. That says a lot about the NBA if a 41-year-old was actually Top 10.”
It is hilarious that anyone would try to knock James by saying he isn’t a top 10 player now. A 41-year-old playing in his 23rd season in the NBA shouldn’t even be a starter, forget a star. James is still a top 20 player, and that’s about where Arenas ranks him as well.
“If I had to rate him right now as a Laker fan, I’mma say anywhere from 15 to 22,” Arenas said.
That is fair. It will be interesting to see how much longer James can keep this up. His critics were ready to write him off after his slow start, but he has shown once again that doubting him is a mistake.
