Year 20 was a rollercoaster for LeBron James as he and the Los Angeles Lakers experienced deep lows and incredible highs during the 2022-23 season.
James and the Lakers started the season 2-10 and looked dead in the water from the jump. However, after getting some reinforcements at the trade deadline Los Angeles was able to make a deep postseason run that ended in sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
Still, the season should be considered a success and give fans optimism that the Lakers can get back to the Finals assuming James doesn’t retire. Even if James were to actually hang things up now, his case as the greatest of all time should be ironclad given what he’s been able to accomplish.
As far as the GOAT debate is concerned, Scottie Pippen doesn’t believe in it but did say James is going to go down as the best statistical player the league has ever seen while also adding that Michael Jordan was horrible before his co-star arrived in Chicago, via Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans:
“LeBron will be the greatest statistical guy to ever play the game of basketball and there’s no comparison to him. None. So does that make him the greatest player to every play the game? I leave that out for debating because I don’t believe that there’s a great player because our game is a team game and one player can’t do it. Like, I’ve seen Michael Jordan play before I came to play with the Bulls. You guys seen him play. He was a horrible player, he was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one, he’s shooting bad shots and all of a sudden we become a team and we start winning. Everybody forgot who he was.”
Pippen saw Jordan closer than anyone, so he’s definitely someone whose opinion should be taken seriously. However, there’s no denying what James has been able to do in regards to stats and there’s a more than good chance he continues to climb up lists if he returns for Year 21.
Several fellow NBA legends have started to accept the King as the GOAT, but should he win another title in Los Angeles then his case would be an even stronger one.
Allen Iverson believes LeBron James is the “The One” when discussing GOAT debate
Allen Iverson, unlike some of his peers, has been gracious when talking about the newer generation of NBA players. With that in mind, it wasn’t too surprising to hear him declare James as the GOAT.
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