Lakers News: LeBron James Unlikely to Win Another Title, Says ESPN Expert

Alex Kirschenbaum | Sep 20, 2024

Apr 29, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball under pressure from Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the first quarter during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers followed up their 2022-23 season — which ended with a middling 43-39 record but an encouraging run all the way to the Western Conference Finals — with a marginally better 47-35 record and significantly a first round playoff exit. In part, there was some regression from 2023 playoff standouts like Rui Hachimura (on both ends of the hardwood) and Austin Reaves (defensively), but the Lakers were clearly also missing the stellar defense of Jarred Vanderbilt and ex-Lakers backup point guard Dennis Schröder, now with the Toronto Raptors.

So which postseason performance was the fluke, and which can be used as a solid barometer for this year's iteration of the team, which includes most of last season's vintage and plenty of big-minutes holdovers from 2022-23?

To hear ESPN's Tim Bontemps unpack it, not only will this year's Lakers not win anything — but he's skeptical 20-time All-Star combo forward LeBron James will ever be able to win a fifth title at this point in his career.

James inked a two-year, $101.4 million near-maximum contract to remain in Los Angeles through the 2025-26 season, when he'll turn 41 years old. James was already the oldest active player in the league last year, and as more of his contemporaries call it a career, the gap between himself and the rest of the league age-wise will only grow.

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"It's definitely more realistic that LeBron James becomes a team owner than wins another championship," Bontemps opined. "Bronny James is now playing with him in L.A., and it's clear he's committed to staying with the Lakers. It's hard to see a scenario where they become strong enough to win another title."

James, one of the few NBA players who's become a billionaire (along with Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson), has long expressed an interest in team ownership. As the league contemplates expanding, markets in Seattle and Las Vegas have been floated as logical next destinations (the league owes Seattle a new team after approving the relocation of the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008). Since James lives just about four hours away from Las Vegas, it makes sense that he'd be interested in that market specifically — something he, himself, has discussed.

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The Lakers face an uphill battle to win it all this season. Beyond the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the East, L.A. will have to survive West powerhouses like the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

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