Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James plays against the Boston Celtics during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
NBA analyst Brian Windhorst has said that in a playoff series LeBron James would be his second pick behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo
In a discussion with NBA analysts Jalen Rose, Malika Andrews, Zach Lowe and Richard Jefferson on ESPN’s NBA Today, Brian Windhorst said that in his opinion LeBron James is still a Top-5 player in the NBA. The discussion was based on the recently released ESPN NBArank for the projected Top 100 players in the upcoming NBA season.
Jalen Rose mentioned that he considers 6 players to be better than LeBron James at the moment. Rose said that Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, and Kawhi Leonard were in a group of their own and LeBron was just below those players.
In response to this, Brian Windhorst said that although he does not enjoy ranking players but in a playoff series that was starting he’d pick Giannis first and LeBron second. He said the in a 7-game series he’d rather choose LeBron James over some of the other options. Windhorst ended his statement by saying that “LeBron is still up there”. I believe that it makes sense to choose LeBron because you’re getting more than just a player. You would get LeBron James NBA Champion and LeBron James playoff maestro.
Even at 37 years old, LeBron James is one of the most consistent performers in the NBA and is even better come playoff time.
Although the Los Angeles Lakers are most likely going to make the playoffs this year, it is unlikely that they will win the NBA Championship. But if everything that needs to go right goes right, then the Lakers can be serious contenders for the NBA Championship.
There are some conditions for this to happen though. Anthony Davis would need to stay healthy for at least 80% of the regular season and the entire playoffs and Russell Westbrook would have to play his best.
In addition to this the role players that the Lakers have signed will have to adjust quickly and exceed expectations. But the most important factor is LeBron James, James would have to activate his LeBron James NBA Champion mode and go off this season. Only then will the Lakers have a true chance to compete for the 2022-23 NBA Championship.
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