LeBron James has earned his way into the conversation of greatest basketball player of all time. Generally, it is him and Michael Jordan at the top of that mountain. With the Lost Angeles Lakers on the outside of the playoffs looking in, James might be in danger of losing his GOAT status, per Cris Carter.
"If they do miss the playoffs, LeBron James will no longer be the greatest basketball player in the world. That title will be transferred." — @criscarter80 pic.twitter.com/kqqplWxx9F
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) February 25, 2019
According to Carter, missing the playoffs means a lot more than James losing his status. It means a new coach, but to a bigger scale it will hinder free agent interest. He specifically mentions a guy like Kawhi Leonard not knowing if the Lakers can be the team to get him a ring.
Basketball is a team game, and yes it helps to have a superstar like James. He will forever be in the conversation of GOAT. It is hard to even fault him for where the Lakers are right now, but since he is the face of the franchise, he is going to shoulder that burden.
Looking purely at the numbers, James is averaging 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. Those are some very impressive stats from a 34-year-old player. He seems to not be declining, but there are four other guys on the court with him at the same time.
In a way, there is room to blame James. He is the leader of that team and he should be helping the guys elevate to a different level. It is just hard to look at what he is doing on the court at the age of 34 and believe he can be instantly removed from his throne as the greatest basketball player in the world.
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