Even at nearly 40 years old, LeBron James is still one of the league's top superstars. This season, in his 20th season as a member of the Lakers, LeBron has set a new standard of excellence and woke the world up. And according to Celtics legend Paul Pierce, he's far from finished.
"He's going to score more points," Paul Pierce said after Kevin Garnett said James will retire with 41,000 points. "How many points is he scoring now? Yeah, he's going to end up with around 45,000 points."
LeBron already leads the all-time scoring list with 39,257 career points. It remains to be seen how to control the continued growth in scoring, but if he is Maintaining this level over the next two or three years, he will easily expand his scoring total to 45,000 points, a number that will surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record.
About the King's Unprecedented Performance
45,000 career points were once considered an unattainable milestone, but LeBron James defied all expectations. Over the course of more than 20 years (and still ongoing today), James has built one of the greatest resumes in basketball history as a 4-time MVP, 4-time NBA Champion, and 19-time All-Star. After winning championships in Miami, Cleveland and Los Angeles, James has so far lived up to expectations on every promise and never lived up to the hype.
Looking forward, one can expect James to gradually decline, but his victory over time marks uncharted territory for the NBA. Never has a superstar dominated basketball for so long, and given how long James has been dominating the basketball world, we may never see anything like it again. But to truly cement himself as the greatest player of all time and surpass Jordan in the eyes of his biggest critics, LeBron will need to win at least one championship, which he still has.
Lakers in win-now mode
With James back at the top of his game, the Lakers have a unique opportunity to compete this season. Aside from James being healthy and thriving, the key to success will be the performance of Anthony Davis, who has been inconsistent since winning a championship in 2020. Davis is averaging 2.6 blocks per game this season and has shown flashes of brilliance on both offense and defense, but he lacks the stability to serve as a leader and finisher.
At 15-11 this season, the Lakers look like the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals last spring. Led by James, Davis sets the tone on the defensive end, the Lakers still pose a serious threat in the competition for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, and James still breaks through every obstacle like he did in 2012. If the league isn't careful, he might even have a shot at the Finals, which might end the debate about the greatest player of all time once and for all.
