LeBron James will obviously go down as one of the greatest players in NBA history, but, he will not be among the greatest Lakers to ever do it, according to his former teammate and current TV analyst Richard Jefferson.
Jefferson shared his thoughts on the matter during an appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast (h/t Brad Sullivan of Lakers Daily) and claimed James has not done enough to cement his legacy in LA despite winning the 2020 NBA title.
“LeBron James has not done enough as a Laker to be on that list (referring to one that included Shaq, Kareem, Kobe, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and LeBron James). Bron been there now — this is his fourth season, right?
They’ve been in there four seasons. Two years, they haven’t made the postseason,” Jefferson said. One year, they lost in the first round. And one year, they won a championship,” he explained.
Right now, it’s hard to determine if James will be remembered as one of the L.A. greats. He led the franchise to an NBA title in 2020, but he is entering just his fifth season in Purple and Gold in 2022-23.
The lack of success the past two season obviously hurt James legacy in regarding his time in “Purple and Gold”. It’s still possible he helps the franchise win another title before his tenure in L.A. comes to an end.
The Lakers’ superstar is eligible to sign a two-year extension with the franchise, but nothing came to materialize so far. The Lakers will have to build a winning squad around LeBron and hope that will keep him in LA.
James would love to be among the list of Lakers’ legends that led the team to multiple titles like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson. It remains to be seen if the Lakers can be real contenders next season.
