"He'll be behind those guys, not even counting Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Wilt, Jerry West, Kareem" - Fox Sports producer asserts LeBron James is not an all-time LA Lakers great
LeBron James’ status as a member of the NBA’s most storied franchise, the LA Lakers, remains a hot topic among basketball fans. Despite the resume he’s built over the last 15 years, his struggles with the Lakers over the last four seasons have diminished his legacy in the eyes of many.
On The Odd Couple podcast, Fox Sports Radio producer Rob Guerra said James is "way down the list" of Lakers greats.
“I wouldn’t even know if he's in the top ten as far as Lakers go just because this is not Miami, this is not Cleveland. We got a lot of championships. If you were to just ask Lakers fans like, ‘Hey, where does LeBron stand?’
"He’ll be behind Worthy, Pau Gasol and Byron Scott. He’ll be behind those guys, not even just counting Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Wilt, Jerry West, Kareem. He’s way down the list as far as Lakers go.”
The four-time MVP has won one title in four seasons with the Lakers. In the other three seasons, they were eliminated in the first round once and failed to make the playoffs twice.
James Worthy, Pau Gasol and Byron Scott had considerably longer stints than King James with the Lakers. They also won more championships than the former Cleveland forward. Gasol won two titles alongside Kobe Bryant, while Worthy and Scott were part of the Showtime Lakers that dominated the ‘80s.
LeBron James is on his way to the Hall of Fame, but probably not due to his stint with the Lakers
If LeBron James retired five years ago, he would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Before joining the Tinseltown squad, King James had already won three championships, two with the Miami Heat and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He gave Cleveland its first pro sports title in more than 50 years. It was a promise he made during draft day and delivered more than a decade later.
He could also go down as a Hall of Famer due to his stint with the Heat, but an argument could be made that Miami had already won a title before they signed James.
Chris Broussard, on another episode of The Odd Couple, stated that James will not enter the Hall of Fame as a Laker. He believes James' biggest achievement was winning the title with Cleveland.
“There’s no way LeBron will go into the Hall of Fame as a Laker. He needs to win more than that [1 championship]...His most important championship, his greatest accomplishment as an NBA player was winning that championship in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.”