Sam Sharp-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is not considering winning the same number of NBA championships as Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan in his career, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
“Anyone who thinks LeBron is sitting there chasing that ghost every night is thinking, ‘Kobe has five, Michael has six, I have four,'” Lowe said. “That’s obviously not LeBron’s mentality. “That’s something I’ve heard privately for a long time. “
James has won four NBA championships. He has entered the NBA Finals 10 times in his career and has played more games than Jordan and Kobe. However, Kobe won 5 NBA championships during his career (all with the Lakers) and Jordan won 6 NBA championships (all with the Chicago Bulls), including two three-peats.
A 20-time All-Star, James accomplished things in his career that Kobe and Jordan never did, such as becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record in the 2022-23 season. .
James still has time to catch up with those two players when it comes to an NBA championship, but according to Lowe, James isn’t solely focused on chasing that goal during his career.
In the 2022-23 season, the Lakers almost returned to the NBA Finals, but lost against the Denver Nuggets. If James wins another championship in Los Angeles, it will be his second championship with the team.
This is another area where James differs from Kobe and Jordan, who won them all with one team. James led the Miami Heat (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers (eleven times) and Lakers (eleven times) to the Promised Land.
While some may not consider this a significant accomplishment, James also made it to the Finals for eight consecutive seasons. Jordan and Kobe never accomplished such a feat in their NBA careers.
There’s no doubt that adding another championship to his insane resume will only further cement James’ legacy as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. The 39-year-old may have more time than people expect to chase a fifth title as he remains at an extremely high level into the 2023-24 season.
James currently averages 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game, shooting 52.0% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range.
The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference at the All-Star break, but the team has won three straight games and seven of its last 10 games. James proved last season that he can lead the team to maintain long-term and stable performance in the playoffs, even if the team ends up in the play-offs.
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers superstar can lead the team back to the top of the NBA and win another championship in his storied career.