Former NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell raised eyebrows this week with a blunt take on LeBron James, suggesting that the Los Angeles Lakers star would not even be the first offensive option if he were somehow placed on the Washington Wizards.
Speaking on SiriusXM Radio, Mitchell claimed LeBron has not yet accepted that his role has fundamentally changed.
“This is what LeBron doesn’t understand, it hasn’t sunk in. Whatever team you go to, you’re the 3rd option. You’re not going to a team when you’re the 1st option anymore. If you went to the Washington Wizards, you would still not be the number 1 option.”
It is the kind of statement that sounds bold on a radio show but falls apart the moment you look at reality.
Yes, LeBron is in Year 23. Yes, he is about to turn 41. And yes, he is no longer the nightly 30-point wrecking ball he once was. But the idea that he would not be the top option on one of the worst teams in basketball borders on performative exaggeration.
Let’s start with the numbers. LeBron is averaging 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.8 assists this season while shooting efficiently from the field. That production is coming after missing the first 12 games, skipping training camp, and working back from a sciatic injury. Since his legendary 10-point scoring streak ended, his play has clearly ticked up, and he has looked every bit like an All-NBA caliber contributor when engaged.
Now look at Washington.
The Wizards sit at 6–23 and are widely considered the worst team in the league. Their leading scorer is CJ McCollum, at 18.7 points per game. Right behind him is Alex Sarr, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, at 18.2 points per game. Both are talented players. Neither is commanding defensive schemes, dictating tempo, or closing games the way LeBron still can.
Even on a Lakers team that features Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, LeBron is still scoring more than anyone on Washington. And that is why sharing touches, deferring by design, and pacing himself through an 82-game grind. Drop that version of LeBron onto a rebuilding Wizards roster starving for direction, and he instantly becomes their primary decision-maker, their offensive organizer, and their late-game option.
Mitchell’s broader point, that LeBron can no longer be the unquestioned No. 1 on a championship team, is fair. That ship has sailed, and LeBron himself has acknowledged it. He is playing to win, not to chase box scores. But moving the goalposts all the way to ‘third option on the Wizards’ feels less like analysis and more like slander for shock value.
Mitchell had a point when he called out Luka Doncic and the Lakers, but he got this one wrong.
There are maybe 15 players you would reasonably take over this version of LeBron in a playoff setting. When the stakes rise, that list shrinks even further. His basketball IQ, size, and control of a game still translate in ways most players cannot replicate, regardless of age.
Yes, LeBron deserves criticism when his effort dips, like it did in the loss to Houston. And yes, the Lakers are struggling right now. Both things can be true. But pretending a soon-to-be 41-year-old who is still producing at this level would be anything less than Washington’s top option ignores context, production, and common sense.
Coach, we hear what you are trying to say. But using the Wizards of all teams to make that point? That one deserves a timeout.
