$30 million-worth former NBA stars claims LeBron James is not worthy of Lakers statue: "That’s the worst"
LeBron James has made a habit out of breaking the most daunting of NBA records. Now aged 39, James continues to be the LA Lakers’ leader, having led them to a championship in 2020. He also broke some of the biggest records of his career as a Laker.
This included reaching the iconic 40,000-point landmark on Saturday, as well as becoming the highest scorer in league history, which happened last season. Now, James is looking to amass another title despite the Lakers (33-29) being only 10th in the Western Conference.
However, amid the glaring records he has broken, former Washington Wizards superstar Gilbert Arenas believes that James has still not done enough to warrant a statue with the Lakers.
On the "Nightcap" podcast, when asked if LeBron will get a statue with his current team, Arenas refused:
“If his career stops right now, hell no. No. He don't have enough accolades in the Laker uniform. ... You need years. He's only played six years. The closest statue we have with that was Shaq. Shaq: eight years, three rings, 13,000 points. That’s the bottom. That’s our worst. That's the worst when it comes to real accolades with that statue.
"So, you know, everybody else, 13-, 14-something years. You know, so, it's gonna be hard to put him in there with six years, eight-thousand points, one championship ... six All-Stars, five All-NBAs, because we ain't finished this season. That's not good enough for a statue in Los Angeles. ... You know what?
"They can just put his shoes. They can just start with his shoes.”
Hence, for Arenas, Shaquille O’Neal reached the threshold for warranting a statue, which he got in 2017 but LeBron still has more achievements to accomplish to get a statue tribute as well.
LeBron James needs to emulate Shaquille O’Neal to get a statue for the Lakers
Gilbert Arenas might come under scrutiny for his comments about LeBron James.
However, Shaquille O’Neal won three NBA championships for the Lakers, which also saw him accrue three consecutive NBA Finals MVPS. That is an achievement shared by only two players, in the form of Shaq and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
While O’Neal added another ring via his stint with the Miami Heat, LeBron James has only won one championship for the legendary franchise, since 2018. His other three rings came with the Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Of course, LeBron James also led the Lakers to the In-Season Tournament victory, the first held in NBA history. However, his best years were already behind him, when he joined the Lakers. The majority of James’ prime came for the likes of the Miami Heat and the Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, although he led the Lakers to the 2020 title and the Western Conference finals last season, the other three seasons were busts. Twice, the Lakers finished with losing records. The other time, they lost in the first round of the playoffs.
If anything, fans might argue that the Cavaliers should pay a statue tribute to LeBron James, once he retires. Rather than a matter of skill, Arenas was alluding to the fact that LeBron will need to add further achievements with the Lakers to warrant a statue. Whether he does that in what’s left of his career, remains to be seen.
The franchise has immortalized six of its players (Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Elgin Baylor and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and broadcaster Chick Hearn with statues.