LeBron James has been defying time for years and proved he can still be effective in the twilight of his career after another solid season with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023-24 campaign.
James was named to the All-NBA Third Team and led the Lakers to the playoffs, although they lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets. While James hasn’t had success in the playoffs, he continues to prove that he still has a place in the conversation as one of the best players in the league.
For newcomers, playing against James must be an exciting proposition given that they grew up watching him in his prime. There are even players like Cody Williams of the Utah Jazz who weren’t even born when James made his debut in 2003.
Williams was a highly anticipated prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft and should be seen early in his career, although he is one of the rookies who is not afraid to face James, via Fox Sports’ Ryan Morik:
“I’m in the NBA for a reason. He always has to defend me too,” Williams said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
Williams added that while he would respect James as a player, he would still try to attack him like he would any other player:
“But I’m also in the NBA. I was drafted 10th overall for a reason,” he said. “I’m not going to be impressed by his stars at all; I’m obviously going to respect him, but I’m going to go to him and let him know I’m supposed to be there, too.”
Williams has every reason to be confident in his ability to compete with the best, given his draft capital and talent, and he will surely have his moments when he sees James on the court. Williams’ competitive spirit is something James will appreciate given his love of measuring himself against his peers.
While Williams and Utah are far from competing for an NBA title, James still appears to have at least a chance at winning the title. Austin Reaves believes the Lakers have a chance given the way they’re playing. James looked during the Olympics, and it will be interesting to see if he maintains that momentum next season.
Lakers’ LeBron James included in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s perfect player
To create the perfect player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chose two Lakers. First, he chose Kobe Bryant for his scoring ability, then he had LeBron James for his athleticism.
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