TL;DR
- Los Angeles Lakers are 14-4, second in Western Conference, with LeBron James playing well.
- Concerns about LeBron James hurting the offense and defense were unfounded as the Lakers are undefeated with him.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo aims to break LeBron James' all-time scoring record within his career.
- Antetokounmpo believes he can reach the scoring milestone by his 17th season, a difficult feat.
The Los Angeles Lakers now sit at 14–4 on the season, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. Before LeBron James returned, there was a belief in some corners that he might drag the team down.
“If LeBron James returns he will need the ball; that is the primary way that he brings value to a team. He has proven he can do that with another on-ball star, going back to his successes with Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving, but he was always the No. 1 option. He is an improved shooter but he's hardly a 3-and-D wing; his value to the team decreases if he isn't handling the ball. Whether it's LeBron playing off-ball or LeBron taking touches away from Doncic and Reaves, he will be hurting the offense,” Lake Show Life’s Josh Cornelissen wrote. “Where the Lakers most desperately need help is on defense, and LeBron is not going to inject the team with energy and hustle at 40 years of age. The return of LeBron James could ruin this team's hot start and see them plummeting back into the morass of the Western Conference middle class -- or worse.”
Yet, the Lakers haven't lost a game with him on the court, and all players are receiving adequate chances. Following the Milwaukee Bucks's latest match, star player Giannis Antetokounmpo declared his intention to pursue James' scoring milestone.
“I think when I’m going to be 35 years old and sitting in this chair, we are going to have a discussion how I am the top list of all time in scoring,” Antetokounmpo told the media.
Those are strong words. James set the all-time scoring record in 2023 against the Thunder.
“To be in the presence of such a legend and great as Kareem, it means so much to me. It’s very humbling,” James said after breaking the record. “To everybody who’s ever been a part of this run with me the last 20 years, I just want to say thank you so much.”
To provide context, James is a bit more than 42,000 points shy of a milestone, whereas Antetokounmpo recently crossed the 21,000 mark at the age of 30. James remains active on the court, so his cumulative score keeps increasing. Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, has set a limit of four additional years for himself, with his thirty-first birthday scheduled for December 6.
Antetokounmpo has set a timeframe for claiming the scoring title, a goal that appears exceptionally difficult. It required James 20 seasons to ascend to the position of the NBA's foremost all-time scorer. Antetokounmpo anticipates achieving that milestone by his 17th season. While it remains a situation to observe, it's improbable that this will materialize by the age of 35.