LeBron James averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game in Year 20.
We’ve all heard the line, ‘I wanna be like Mike.’ But right now, former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas says that he wants to be like Bron.
Speaking during the latest Gil’s Arena podcast, Agent Zero gushed about LeBron James entering his 21st NBA season. And not only that, Arenas thinks he is doing so while being still very much on top of his game.
“I wish I was LeBron right now,” Arenas said. “And I’ll start saying, ‘Hey man, compare me to Michael Jordan right now. When was at the same age, was he putting up 27-8-8? Nope. Nah, he was on the Wizards. He wasn’t doin’ what I’m doing now. Jordan looked like he was old on the Wizards. I look like I’m still 21.”
Year 21 for the “Washed King”
When the 2023-24 NBA season starts, LeBron James will become only the 6th player in NBA history to play at least 21 NBA seasons. What sets LeBron apart is that he will be doing so while arguably extending his prime into his late 30s.
James will be 39 years old before the year ends, but he is coming off a season where he averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. LBJ did miss 27 games due to a torn tendon in his right foot, but looking at league history, what he did last season was unprecedented.
It remains to be seen what Year 21 LeBron will look like, but Arenas thinks he won’t fall off far from last year’s tree. When Josiah Johnson asked him what he expects from James this year Gil responded in a simple manner.
“Same sh** we got last year. I ain’t expect nothing less. You averaged 27.8? We all don’t got the talent for you to go down to twenty. 27.0? Acceptable, I’m sorry. That’s where I see the King,” Arenas said.
MJ looked old on the Wizards
No one has come close to putting up the same Year 20 numbers as LeBron. Kobe Bryant was the closest when he averaged 17.6 points per game during the 2015-16 NBA season. But the Black Mamba scored those numbers on a Lakers team that posted a 17-65 regular season record. James, meanwhile, led the Lakers to a 43-39 record last season and went all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, Michael Jordan did not even reach Year 20, but he did sit out 4 seasons during his first and second retirements. Stii, Michael ended up playing when he was 38 and 39 years old for the Washington Wizards.
MJ averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while logging an impressive 36.1 minutes per outing. However, like Kobe, MJ played on a losing team, with Washington finishing 10th and 13th in the East during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, respectively.
