There are fears LeBron James’ tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers could come to an end after another NBA Playoffs failure, but his longtime friend and media personality Shannon Sharpe has weighed in to set the record straight.
A mouthwatering partnership with Luka Doncic saw the Lakers move from championship outsiders to championship contenders, but a glaring weakness in center left them exposed against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Now at the age of 40, with 22 seasons in the sport and a total of 1562 career appearances and having finally achieved a dream to play alongside his son, could he bow out and enter the next phase of his life away from the Crypto.com Arena?
Sharpe dismisses the claims and backs LeBron to continue on his partnership with his new superb Slovenian teammate, tipping him to continue playing a major role in restoring the Lakers‘ competitive edge as they chase a first title since 2020.
“No, I don’t see it,” Sharpe said on the Nightcap podcast. “He loves everything about LA. Savannah loves everything about LA. I don’t believe he goes back.
“Go back and do what? You play with Luka. I think he really loves the Lakers. I really think he loves living in LA. I think he loves all things LA.
“The weather is nice year-round. He don’t really have to have an overcoat. You know you can have a top down damn near year-round. You got water, you got beaches. I mean everything. His businesses are in LA. There’s really nothing for him not to like about LA.”
Flagg dreams of LeBron rivalry
James has played against over 1710 opponents in the NBA since he began his career straight out of high school with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2003, but there is one college graduate hoping he hangs around to let that number rise.
That man is Cooper Flagg, the standout Duke Blue Devils forward who is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft; highlighting the influence he wields over younger athletes.
“LeBron,” Flagg said of who he would like to play with the most. “And I want to play against him, just because, I mean, it’s LeBron.
“Not a lot more people are going to get a chance to play with LeBron. So I think it would just be really good, cool to play against him.”
The latest NBA Mock Draft has Flagg as the first-round, first-overall pick on the 2025 pool, with the latest simulation tipping the 18-year-old to head to the Washington Wizards.
Averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, Flagg lit up the NCAA and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four before they were eventually stopped by the Houston Cougars by just three points.
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