“Next year is gonna be all about the biggest gate attraction in sports: LeBron James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar” - Skip Bayless believes LeBron James won’t win a title in the next 3 years
Analyst Skip Bayless believes the LA Lakers will fail to win a title over the next three years while LeBron James chases Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record.
For better or worse, James will determine the future of the Lakers. James is placing his faith in the front office, and the front office is putting its faith in him.
Part of James' focus next season will be passing Abdul-Jabar on the career scoring list. Bayless said:
“Next year is gonna be all about the biggest gate attraction in sports: LeBron James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.”
Bayless also believes that once the Lakers superstar passes Abdul-Jabar, his focus will be on making the record unbreakable rather than winning another championship.
"I got 3 more years, 0 championships for LeBron. Next year will be all about LeBron James passing Kareem Adbul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring record. And the 2 years after will be about adding to that record to make it virtually unbreakable."
— @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/BlxCkAbdsg
Considering that James wants to play with his son, Bronny James, who will for in the 2024 draft, playing three more years fits that timeline. James is under contract with the Lakers through next season.
Winning a championship over the next three seasons will be a different story, given how far away the Lakers (33-49) were from the title this season.
LeBron James may be able to maintain the quality of his play over the next three years, but the health and future of James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook will also play a role in their ability to win.
If winning is no longer his primary concern, James will still need to play well to become the all-time scoring leader and break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record.
Will LeBron James pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar next season?
For LeBron James, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the last significant milestones he can achieve. As a player in consideration for the greatest, becoming the all-time scoring leader strengthens his argument.
James has 37,062 points, while Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989 atop the scoring list with 38,387. If James maintains his career scoring average of 27.1 points per game, it will take him 49 games to get the 1,326 points needed to pass Abdul-Jabbar.
James averaged 30.3 ppg this season. But he's also missing more time lately. He played in 55 of 82 games in 2018-19, 67 of 71 in 2019-20, 45 of 72 last season and 56 of 82 this season.
Most PPG in age-37 season in NBA History:
LeBron James 30.3
Karl Malone 23.2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.0 https://t.co/GsAuXwlbVH
The Lakers weren't successful this season despite James scoring at a high level. Winning could be problematic if he needs to score 30-plus points per game again.
However, it will make passing Abdul-Jabbar feasible.