I hate to break it to the Laker faithful, but this year, Lebron’s priority is not the NBA title.
It’s passing Kareem Abdul Jabbar on the All-time scoring list.
Sure, if they make the playoffs and it’s within the realm of possibility, he will push for it. But if it comes down to grinding it out, day in and day out, carrying the entire team load on his back like he was wont to do before, methinks that’s too much to ask of the King.
THE KING. Anointing himself as the chosen one at the inception of his career, James has over three decades of excellence proving himself over and beyond expectations.
So much so that there are a few who would deign to call James the “Greatest Of All Time” or GOAT for brevity.
But, of course, those of you who follow this column religiously know that I beg to digress as that would be sacrilegious to the great Michael Jordan.
Even so, LeBron has done enough to be considered in the conversation.
The only problem is that Jordan is still sui generis and heads above everybody else.
With only four titles to his name, LeBron desperately needs to win one or two more — and, coupled with all his other statistical achievements, hopefully, tilt the scales in his argumentative favor.
LAKERS. Unfortunately, his chances of winning a title with his current team are slimmer than Sam Pinto’s waistline.
They have yet to win a game in five starts, currently languishing at the bottom of the standings, obviously.
Yes, there is still a lot of basketball to be played, but you can kiss your title hopes goodbye to the brand of basketball they are currently playing.
The Lakers are old, can’t shoot, and can’t defend.
And for some reason, James somehow thinks he has morphed into Steph Curry, shooting the most 3-point attempts for his team at a paltry 25 percent clip.
Yup, it’s all about passing Kareem, folks, but the problem is even that will not be enough.
It’s also about context. Nobody wants to root for a player who wants to pile up points, while his team is losing badly.
SILVA VS PAUL. I got my money on Anderson Silva, big time. Barring any freak accident, he will bloody Paul’s mouth and box his ears off.
LAST ROUND. It’s on Aloha Navarro, who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers, ‘gaw!