Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is accomplishing something this season that is unprecedented for the NBA. Sure, we’ve seen players average 25.2 points with 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game on great efficient like James is doing this season. He is making 54.5 percent of his shot attempts, 40.1 percent from 3-point range and 71.4 percent from the foul line.
However, acocmplishing that in Year 21 of your career while turning 39 years old at the end of the month is something we have never seen before. What James is doing puts him in a league of his own when it comes to longevity and dominant production.
Just surpassing the quarter-point of the season, James has helped the Lakers to a 15-11 record. They are currently in eighth place in the loaded Western Conference, where the 14-12 Phoenix Suns are holding down the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: LeBron James, Stephen A. Smith, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
While there are certainly some areas of improvement for Los Angeles, one NBA analyst believes that James should be garnering MVP consideration. During a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith went to bat for James as someone who should garner attention who hasn’t been to this point.
“I agree with you Perk (Kendrick Perkins),” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “LeBron James deserves MVP consideration. Now I know [the Lakers] gotta win a little bit more can’t be around 14 and 10 like that. But this brother deserves MVP consideration.”
“So much so Perk that if LeBron James was to win league MVP, I had to make a couple of calls and explain it, you know, I got to talk about LeBron James touch differently if he went MVP this year. Oh, Lord have mercy! I don’t know what to say.”
Given what James has accomplished in the 2023-24 NBA regular season to this point, Smith certainly has a good case to make. Players aren’t supposed to be doing what he is doing at this stage of their career as he still looks like someone capable of carrying a team to victories.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: LeBron James, Stephen A. Smith, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
James is leading the Lakers in points, assists and steals (1.5) per game. All three stats are inside the top 15 of the NBA thus far and he has shown no signs of slowing down, either.
The most important part of James’s success this season has been his ability to stay on the court. He has played in 24 out of 26 games, showcasing better health that he has in the last few seasons. That will only strengthen his case for the NBA MVP award because the more he is on the court, the more success the Lakers will have.
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