Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking each player of the newly constructed roster
By Jason Reed
2. LeBron James
Yep, I have LeBron James ranked second on this list behind Anthony Davis. I think that this is the first year in which Davis truly takes over as the best player on the Lakers and cements himself as a bonafide top-five player in the league.
We’ll talk about Davis on the next page. Let’s talk about LeBron James.
LeBron has defied father time, winning his fourth championship and playing extremely well in the NBA Playoffs at the age of 35. He did so after taking a four-month break from competitive basketball and having to ramp back up quickly for the NBA Playoffs and stay isolated in a hotel for 100 days.
There are no signs of him slowing down, although we all eventually know that he will. I think this is the first season in which LeBron goes from a bonafide top-three guy in the league to a fringe All-NBA First Team player.
Again, still among the best of the best in the league, but he eventually does have to weigh his miles and when to use the remaining ones that he does have.
With this offseason being the shortest in American sports history I think it is a common consensus that LeBron is going to be handled with kid gloves in the regular season. He might not even play much of a role, if any, over the first month of the season, eventually ramping up as the playoffs hit.
Once the NBA Playoffs begin I have no doubt that he will be the same dominant LeBron James that he was last season. However, he wisely will be about 80% of what he normally is during the regular season that way he can ensure that he can be 110% for the NBA Playoffs.