Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers’ all-time starting lineup
Small Forward: LeBron James
2019-20 Season: 25.7PPG. 7.9RPG, 10.6APG. 3-time NBA Champion, 4-Time MVP, 16-time All-Star, 14-Time All NBA team, currently leading the league in assists as a SMALL FORWARD! Number 1 vote-getter in the MVP All-Star game. Neck and neck with Giannis Antetokounmpo (Who is having a career year) for MVP this season. 1st in the Western Conference. Doing all this at the age of 35!!!!
Runner up: Elgin Baylor and James Worthy
LeBron James has only been on the Lakers two seasons but the level of talent and excellence he has brought to the Los Angeles Lakers in such a short period is undeniable.
Before LeBron landed in Los Angeles, the purple and gold were very much in rebuild mode. They had built through the draft and were a few years into what seemed like a never-ending rebuild.
Injuries hampered LeBron’s 1st season with the Lakers and while his stats were great, the Lakers failed to make the playoffs.
This season, LeBron has had one of the best seasons of his entire career and at the age of 35 makes it truly miraculous.
He is leading the league in assists with 10.6 a game, he has the Lakers 1st in the West all the while looking as good as he ever has.
With so much talk last season about how LeBron failed to get the Lakers to the playoffs, there was significant chatter amongst the NBA community stating that LeBron James was washed and no longer the dominant player he once was.
We can safely say that LeBron has proven the nay-sayers wrong.
There is definitely an argument for Elgin Baylor or even James Worthy at this spot. Worthy while an All-Time Lakers great, has not put up a statistical season like LeBron has, nor been as dominant.
While Elgin Baylor has put up numbers exceeding LeBron’s numbers, he did so in an era of the NBA against lesser competition. Elgin is one of the forefathers of the Lakers and deserves all the respect and admiration that comes with that.