"He's not used to being second"- LeBron James' reaction to being the 2nd oldest player in NBA has fans in shambles
Coming in as a 38-year-old in the 2023-24 NBA season, LeBron James thought that he was the oldest basketball player in the league but to his surprise, ESPN did not pencil him in a fact that he thought he knew.
In a recent post by ESPN, the names of the top five oldest players in the league were shared with the caption:
"LeBron James is now the 2nd oldest player currently in the NBA."
The four-time NBA champion saw the post and shared it on his Instagram stories, saying that he thought he held that title this upcoming season.
"Who's 1st? I thought I was the [oldest]," James wrote.
According to ESPN, Andre Iguodala is still the league's oldest player. However, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP retired on May 13, 2023. This happened right after the Golden State Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Second on ESPN's list was LeBron James and rounding up the top 5 oldest players were PJ Tucker, Chris Paul, and Taj Gibson.
A hilarious response by a LeBron James Fan account read:
"He's not used to being second."
"He always thinks he’s first LMAO," another user wrote.
As officially the oldest active player in the NBA, there is no sign of James slowing down after averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game.
LeBron James may hold the oldest active NBA player honor for many years
Almost missing another NBA Finals, the 19-time NBA All-Star looks like a player who still has quite a lot left in the tank after 19 seasons. With him being the oldest active player in the league at 38, his agent Rich Paul firmly believes that James has the capability to extend his playing career in his mid-40s during his interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“He’s one guy that I’m not going to say no about. I think it's important to understand what really motivates him," said Paul. "I know it, obviously I've been around him for so long that I can tell you what his day probably looks like without even talking to him. As long as his mind is there, as long as he's still excited about playing in the NBA -- in addition to his health -- absolutely. I always tease him that if your athleticism went away, you would just be Karl Malone and that's fine."
If James manages to stay active in the league until 45, he may come close to breaking the record for the oldest active NBA player in history by Nat Hickey at 45 years old and 363 days.