LeBron James has a resume that most Hall of Famers would not be ashamed to steal; his list of achievements is quite staggering. King James has been the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and playoffs.
Although he has reached the pinnacle of success, the veteran is missing one accolade that a basketball player can win: a DPOY.
And there is another trophy he may not win: the Larry O’Brien. That’s right. The four-time championship winner, LeBron James, can end his career one finger short of recreating the iconic Kobe Bryant photo.
At 38 (soon to turn 39), King James is running out of time and healthy muscles that haven’t been tweaked yet.
James will be looking to enter year 21 to become one of the oldest ever to win a championship (the oldest being Robert Parish at 43). But the situation will not be the same as years gone by, and LeBron will have to climb a mountain bigger than the years before to even get to the conference finals.
Here are three reasons why LeBron James, arguably the greatest ever to play basketball, might retire from the game with fewer championship rings than Dennis Rodman.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets – Game Two
3 reasons why LeBron James will not win another championship ring
#3: Chemistry problems
The Los Angeles Lakers have seen themselves jump through hoops of fire at the start of every season just to get the team chemistry right.
Each year since the 2020 season, they’ve been adjusting too much and asking the team to gel too quickly. Last year saw the Lakers get off to a horrendous 2-10 start, their worst in years.
They had to endure until the All-Star break, when things got better. If it happens this season as well, there is only so much left in LeBron James’ tank for him to pull out another miracle.
King James is at that point in his career where he would prefer to save his best version until the playoffs or for the next season, knowing herculean efforts at this stage do not have any reward.
#2: LeBron’s penchant for 3-point shooting
Last season was Darwin Ham’s full season in charge, and to an extent, he got the plays right. There were times he got the rotations right and made the right calls to switch plays when things were not working. But it was during the times they didn’t work that the inadequacies showed through.
Because it was almost always the same kind of play: give LeBron James the ball and let him decide what to do with it. This play would have been unassailable in the past, but now teams have begun to counteract it.
They’ve become more agile in their thinking, and at times, the Lakers’ spacing has meant that the ball handler (LeBron James) would be forced to chuck up a 3.
Last season was his worst in 3-point shooting as a Laker. He managed to draw a blank from beyond the arc on 11 occasions, missing 53 attempts in those 11 games.
Many games have come to the wire because of his sometimes unnecessary shots, shots that could have otherwise been converted by someone else. This could have been his subconscious effort to push and break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record.
Despite all of those bad shooting nights last season, he did make 121 3s overall.
If he does correct his choice of shots ever so slightly, all those close games can turn to Ws.
#1 Anthony Davis
The biggest boon and bane for this Los Angeles Lakers side is Anthony Davis. After signing the biggest extension deal ever, Davis is needed now more than ever. LeBron James will not be able to pull a team to victories much longer, and the reins have to be handed over now.
His first season as a Laker was a dream; he won the championship in his debut year. It has been downhill since then, with injuries putting him out for long stretches of each season.
Entering his 5th year as a Laker, AD should stay healthy and play consistently, as displayed in his first season, for the Lakers to be competitive again.
Will LeBron James continue as a Laker until retirement?
There is a possibility that King James will decide to leave the Lakers after his current contract expires.
He has expressed his desire to play with his son but never specified that it had to be with the Lakers. There is a possibility that the Lakers do not get to draft Bronny James, and they watch their talisman leave them.
Will he win a title when he leaves? Unless he teams up with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, or Nikola Jokic, that is not a possibility. Even if he does, the league is so wide open that he may still end up with only four championship rings in the end.
