The Detroit Lions may have lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, but Dan Campbell and Co. have certainly earned the respect and admiration of the sports world. Just look at what Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA icon LeBron James had to say about the team following Sunday's heartbreaker.

On Instagram, James hailed Campbell and the work he put in to make the Lions a playoff contender. The Lakers star was reacting to Campbell's remarks, telling his team that this year's playoffs could be their only shot at the Super Bowl. The Detroit head coach did note that he doesn't believe that, but he emphasized that they will have to work “twice as hard” and take the 2024 season with as much hunger as they had in their recent campaign.

James obviously loved the real talk Campbell gave his players, prompting him to call the Lions tactician a “soldier and “great coach.”

“Love this dude!!! He's a fkn SOLDIER and great COACH!!” LeBron wrote.

His questionable fourth-quarter decisions aside, Dan Campbell certainly deserves a ton of credit for what the Lions have accomplished in his three years so far as their head coach. From being a 3-13-1 team in 2021, 98-8 in 2022 and 12-5 in 2023, the team has made huge strides under his tutelage.

They were so close to making it to the Super Bowl after more than three decades of waiting to win a postseason game, and everything wouldn't have been possible without Campbell. He brought hope to a franchise that badly needed one, and while they fell short in the end, there's nothing to be disappointed about how their season ended.

As LeBron James hinted, the Lions are lucky to have Campbell on their side. And with him leading the way moving forward, it's not hard to see the Lions consistently contending for a postseason spot in the years to come. As the veteran head coach said, however, they need to keep building and improving every year and take each season with a similar underdog mentality that they had throughout the 2023 campaign and beyond.

It will be hard, but the future still looks bright for the Lions.