LeBron James appears to be putting his fellow NBA stars on notice with his performances for the Los Angeles Lakers so far this season. As many NBA fans should be aware, King James is currently playing in Year 21 and still looking to contend for an NBA title despite clearly being at the backend of his career.
In all fairness, LeBron is only considered to be at the last stages of his career due to his ever-advancing age. Fans will be interested to hear that King James is currently 38 years old and the oldest player in the league. The NBA stars that manage to last for more than two decades in the league struggle to record double-digit points and minutes played.
However, recent statistics indicate that the Los Angeles Lakers star is playing at a level that rivals some of the top MVP candidates so far this season such as Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more on the subject.
LeBron James is still on the same level as Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic
Although it might sound near impossible to believe, King James is playing at a similar level as that of Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Fans will be aware that Doncic is one of the bright young stars in this league. On the other hand, Jokic is the reigning Finals MVP. Therefore, it is very impressive for LeBron to be playing at a similar level.
In the 22 games played so far this season, LeBron has been averaging 25 points. 7.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists. While these numbers don’t look as good when compared to Jokic’s or Doncic’s, recent reports indicate that LeBron is still as useful to his team.
The only players with
500+ points
125+ rebounds
125+ assiststhis season. pic.twitter.com/iGHBmZd7Qn
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 8, 2023
Statmuse pointed out that LeBron, Jokic, and Luka are the only players who have surpassed the 500 points, 125 rebounds and 125 assists markers so far this season. Since all 3 of them are known for being well-rounded, this statistic certainly makes sense.
Be that as it may, it is still very impressive to see LeBron doing nearly as much as the best stars in the league. However, one should wonder if King James will be able to continue playing at this unexpected level.
Can King James sustain this level of play?
Not only is LeBron averaging impressive numbers, but he has also been shooting quite efficiently this season. King James has been making 55.3% of his field goals and has also been shooting 40.7% from the three-point line.
Considering that King James has been making only 34% of his three-pointers throughout his career, it would be fair to say that his outside shooting numbers will take a dip as the season goes on. However, we are quite sure that he will be able to sustain his current scoring load for the remainder of the season as long as injuries don’t deter his play.