NBA analyst Mike Greenberg believes LeBron James is playing for a franchise that sold its soul to win one title. James was able to lead the LA Lakers to the championship in the 2019-20 season but since then their performances haven’t been up to the mark.
In fact, the Lakers could not qualify for the play-in tournament in the previous edition of the NBA as they struggled with injuries to their key players, such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Davis has struggled to stay healthy in the last couple of seasons and it has led to the downfall of the team.
Mike Greenberg said while talking to ESPN, “LeBron James is playing for a franchise that sold their soul to win one title and they won it. His running mate Anthony Davis is never healthy. You can put LeBron on a team and its in the playoffs. I believe he gives you a better chance to win every game he plays.”
Despite his injury concern, James was in stellar form in the previous season as he averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 56 games in 2021-22. He was also selected to play in his eighteenth All-Star games. However, he could not get the support of his teammates.
Meanwhile, recently ESPN released the player’s ranking and didn’t include either LeBron James or Kevin Durant in the top five players. ESPN expert Stephen A. Smith didn’t agree with it.
Smith said, “There is no way in hell I don’t have LeBron James and Kevin Durant out of my top 5… Ain’t no way in hell 5 players in the world are better than LeBron James and Kevin Durant. That is impossible!”
LeBron was ranked in sixth place while Durant was positioned at eighth rank in the ESPN NBArank.
Lakers have also added players like Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder and they will be looking to come up with a collective effort in the upcoming season. The team will begin its NBA campaign against the Golden State Warriors on the 19th of October.
