1. LeBron James
LeBron James has without question been the most durable player the game has ever seen. He's in his 21st season, yet he's still being named the Player of the Week, in addition to playing at an All-NBA level. James has had many historical moments in a Lakers uniform, and could break many more records in the purple and gold, if he chooses to remain a Laker for the rest of his playing days.
However, this is far from a guarantee, as the current version of the Lakers isn't quite a championship contender. In fact, they're far from it.
Heading into Friday night, this Lakers team has gone 17-22 against teams with winning records this season, while going 17-8 against teams below .500 in 2023-24. In other words, half of their wins have come against non-contenders and 73 percent of their losses have come against teams with winning records.
Surely this isn't how James envisions his career ending. Breaking records on a non-contender isn't what he drew up, even if it does afford him the opportunity to play with his son.
James has yet to exercise his player option and he hasn't agreed to an extension with the Lakers either. In other words, the Lakers could very well be at risk of James bolting and agreeing to a sign-and-trade to get him off the team.
Which will likely be his best chance at legitimately winning another title. Anthony Davis hasn't yet proven capable of being the primary option on a championship team and allowing James to take a back seat.
LeBron wouldn't have this issue on the Golden State Warriors or even the Philadelphia 76ers, who checked in on LeBron's availability at the deadline.
The Lakers could legitimately lose James this offseason, which would leave them destitute and stranded.