The 2022-23 NBA campaign will be LeBron James’ 20th season in the league and if anyone would have told you back in 2003 that he would still be playing at such an elite level, you’d have laughed at their face. It would have been unthinkable that someone with that much wear and tear on their body would still be that good, but here we are.
He doesn’t seem to be slowing down a whole lot either, as he comes into 2022-23 on the back of the best season anyone has had in their 19th year in the league, as he averaged over 30 points per game. He was the only reason that the dysfunctional Lakers were somewhat afloat last season and they’ll need more of the same from him if they are to achieve anything of note in this upcoming season. The team recently released an epic video of the King getting ready for his 20th year in the league and LeBron responded to it as well.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 28, 2022
The fact that he has now spent more than half of his life in the NBA is incredible and it is an indictment on the rest of the roster that he is pretty much the only one in there who we can safely say is going to ball out next season.
Anthony Davis cannot be relied upon after all the injuries he has had over the last two seasons and we have seen his numbers gradually go down as well. Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, seems destined to be on his way out, and even if he does end up staying, it is hard to see him having a bounce-back season, as he just doesn’t fit alongside LeBron. The role players they have brought in are solid but unspectacular, although Patrick Beverley should help a defense that struggled so much last season.
There was a reason why LeBron was so desperate to get Kyrie Irving on the team, as he knows that they need more if they are to contend this upcoming season. At this stage of his career, it is all about winning championships, but even if he keeps his end of the bargain, there is no guarantee that the Lakers will be successful next season. He may be defying Father Time in a way that no one has ever done, but LeBron knows that the end is near. For his sake, we hope the supporting cast shows up this time around because we know for sure that he will.
