LeBron James will officially tip off his 21st season in the NBA, but the veteran doesn't seem to be slowing down. Even at 38 years old, others in the league still see him as one of the best.
Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers star averaged 28.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists. The four-time NBA champion continued putting his name in the history books by passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer.
"Some guys might say he is No. 2, but other guys like me, I say he is No. 1, and he's still going," Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo told The Athletic, regarding James' place in history as the top player in the NBA.
He is known as a talented basketball player, but James is also known as a family man and overall unproblematic public figure.
He had already shared that he doesn't want to retire until he plays at least one season in the NBA with his oldest son, Bronny -- a freshman at USC. Recently, he might have hinted that he would also consider waiting for his youngest son Bryce, who is still a 16-year-old in high school.
"He's kind of like setting the blueprint for the rest of us to go forward. That's what I want," Giannis added. "I want to be able to do what I do on the court consistently, be good, be healthy, be available for my team, be able to, you know, raise my family in a bubble away from what I do on the court for them to have a normal life as much as I can. Stay out of trouble."
For more than a few years now, one of the most common NBA debates has been about whether James could take Michael Jordan's place in history as the greatest of all time. It's hard to establish the perfect requirements for that title, but no matter what, the fact is that James is always part of the conversation.
"I think people will look back at that body of work over 20 years or however long it's been, and when it's over with, I think they'll have more respect (for James)," Damian Lillard said. Lillard's first year in the league was right after James won his first NBA championship,
"For the guys who are in it like I am, and the rest of us who do this job, got to put our bodies through it and got to deal with the pressure and have to perform and all of these things to go along with our personal lives, I think people like us respect it. But when it's over, what I think you guys, fans that just have watched, will respect him more later," Lillard said.
James and the Lakers will tip off their 2023-24 season at home as they host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, Oct. 26.
