The Los Angeles Lakers, for the first time this season, have entered the upper echelon of the NBA and can legitimately be called contenders.
One of the biggest factors in this turnaround has been LeBron James and his willingness to take a backseat, play a lesser role, and let Luka Doncic run the show. Taking on a lesser role or having the ball less may not sound that hard, but it's something plenty of legends couldn't do.
As a pro athlete, especially someone who has been at the top for as long as LBJ has, making that decision and handing over the keys isn't easy. In the past, we've seen legends struggle to do that. Looking back on Kobe Bryant's career, he obviously didn't have a Luka-level player to hand things off to, but his desire to be the guy and carry a team prevented LA from transitioning to their next star.
The same thing goes for Michael Jordan. Both MJ and Kobe had massive egos that helped them at the start and prime of their careers, but by the end, that same mindset sabotaged them.
Players like Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took a step back and adapted their skill sets to a role that would lead to championships late in their careers. Kobe was rotting on a mediocre team. Jordan was wearing a Wizards jersey.
LeBron James is setting himself apart from past legends
The fact that anyone believes pro athletes, especially the legends of the game, don't have egos is just hysterical. To be great, you have to have that mindset, they are the best at all times.
What LeBron has done, taking a step back, shows he understands that for the Lakers to be at their best, he had to hand the team over to Luka.
Having a player with LeBron's level of basketball IQ and attention to detail, focused on one specific part of his game, rather than doing everything, has made this Lakers team scary. Luka is regularly going off for 40 points, and LBJ is just feeding him. It's no shade to Kobe or Jordan, but they just wouldn't ever be able to take this type of step back.
Lakers fans had to sit through three years of Kobe-led teams that didn't even make the playoffs once the winning was over, and then saw his retirement tour end in the regular season. Sure, that final game was legendary, but those final years were forgettable. Thankfully for fans, the twilight of LeBron's career has become the opposite.
The King's ability to adapt to the times and situation the Lakers are in today has this group looking like championship favorites heading into the postseason.