“Kobe always said keep pushing the game forward, and LeBron personifies that” – 4x NBA Champ
As the NBA season opened Tuesday, LeBron James will embark on his 20th season. Playing 20 years in a professional sport is a major achievement in itself. Being excellent in that time period puts James into a class by himself.
ESPN put out a video hosted by Scoop Jackson talking about LeBron James' legacy. The video features current players who have played against James speaking on his amazing legacy. Klay Thompson, who is a four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors, had plenty of respect for James.
"My idol, bryant" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Kobe (Bryant), always said keep pushing the game forward, and LeBron personifies that, because you don't get to that point without a passion and a hunger to be the best you can be," Thompson said. "He exemplifies that, and I know Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) will be proud of him. The fact that LeBron is in that same category is special.
"He is a king of sports."
"King of sports" may be an accurate description of what James has been able to do. Even in other sports, few have been this good this long. Tom Brady may be his only comparable.
Thompson has been able to see the greatness of James up front after competing against James in four straight NBA Finals. Although Thompson's Warriors won three of those, James was still amazing carrying his team that far and putting up some incredible statistics.
LeBron James plays with the same hunger for the game as in his early dominant days
After watching James play last season, no one can doubt that he still has a passion for the game. Even with the Lakers being out of playoff contention for most of the season, James still played at a high level. His 30.3 points per game was the highest of his career. Most players don’t achieve career highs in their 19th season.
James is driven and wants to win another championship. Right now, he is a four-time champion, and that still puts him behind the likes of Magic Johnson (five), Kobe Bryant (five) and, of course, Michael Jordan (six). Even in his 20th season, he still has a lot to shoot for. James cares about being considered the greatest of all time and would like to cement that legacy.
LeBron James’ journey as a Laker versus Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's era with Lakers
One major record LeBron James is likely to break this season is Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record. It is presumed that LeBron will surpass Kareem as the league’s all-time leading scorer. Jabbar has held that spot for 38 years. If James breaks that record, it's likely that the new standard will last even longer.
"We was all on vacation. We was on a boat. It's me, Melo (Carmelo Anthony), D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) and Bron, and we was talking about different achievements and whatnot and what was going to happen," Chris Paul, one of James' good friends said.
"And I remember saying, 'Remember, like all of us said that he was going to do it. You know, he was going to pass him.' And to know that the record won't just be broke, it's probably going to be set at something that I don't think it's going to get broken."
Most stars are not this good this long. Even Kareem didn't score at the rate LeBron does this late in his career. In Jabbar’s 19th season, at 40 years old, he averaged 14.6 points per game, which is less than half of what James averaged at the same point in his career. Lakers great Kobe Bryant averaged 17.6 points in Year 20, at 37. It's hard to be that good for that long.
Paul may not be far off in thinking this will be a record that will never be broken. Abdul-Jabbar retired at the end of the 1988-89 season, and in the last 32 years no one has been able to surpass him. The closest active NBA player to him is James Harden at No. 28. No one thinks this is LeBron’s last season, so he only has time to grow the record.
Abdul-Jabbar retired with 38,387 points. James enters this season with 37,062. Harden has 23,477. If Carmelo Anthony, drafted in the same class as James in 2003, plays this season, he can improve from ninth (at 28,879).