Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James turned 38 years old this week.
Despite taking very good care of his body throughout his entire career, he knows that he doesn’t have much time left in the sport.
And because of that, James spoke out recently about how poorly the Lakers have played this season and why he needs to play meaningful basketball with what little time he has left in the NBA.
LeBron James: “I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level, from a team aspect. I still want to compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces.” pic.twitter.com/o3Y2HZCC6I
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) December 29, 2022
“I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level, from a team aspect,” James said.
“I still want to compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces.”
Some took issue with this. They pointed to James’ central role in putting the Lakers in their current predicament and suggested he take more responsibility.
One person who didn’t seem to feel like that was necessary was James’ co-star, Anthony Davis.
Davis spoke to the media on Friday before the Lakers’ game against the Atlanta Hawks.
“I mean he’s not getting any younger,” Davis said in regards to James’ comments.
“Of course, it would only make sense that he would want to compete for championships in the X amount of years he has left in him. So I took nothing from it. I took it for exactly what it was, what he said, and I feel like it’s a true statement.”
During that same session, Davis revealed that his injury could keep him out for as long as eight months if it doesn’t heal right. Which doesn’t exactly spell great news for James’ championship aspirations.
Obviously the Lakers are a huge disappointment this year. And it seems like they don’t have any plans that will change that any time soon.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/69D1YRHqTO
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 30, 2022
In that regard James’ frustration is understandable. As is Davis’ defense of it.
Unfortunately, while everyone’s positions make sense, the facts remain the same: L.A. has no path to a championship now or at any point in the foreseeable future.
Lakers fans will need to get used to that – but so will James and Davis.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
