NFL superstar showers heavy praise on LeBron James, says he doesn't get 'enough respect'

LeBron James has had a long and illustrious career with no signs of slowing down or being hampered by "Father Time." With everything that James has accomplished in his career, numerous athletes have grown tremendous respect for the 19-time All-Star.

Speaking of athletes, NFL superstar J.J. Watt spoke with Mike Greenberg on ESPN's "Get Up" regarding LeBron James' status in sports today.

"LeBron, what he has done, from being a prodigy to where he is today," Watt said, "and being able to live up to every single ounce of hype that he has had heaped upon him since he was a little kid is incredible. ... I don't know if we give him enough respect for that."

LeBron James had incredible hype surrounding him at a young age back when he was playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School from his hometown in Akron, Ohio. James was viewed with tremendous upside due to his versatility on offense and playmaking while being a quality on and off-ball defender.

Due to the hype and upside associated with LeBron, he was selected as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He would go on to play seven seasons with the Cavaliers, four with the Miami Heat in 2010. He returned to Cleveland for four seasons and finally landed with the Los Angeles Lakers in his 20th NBA season.

LeBron James went on to win four championships, four MVP awards, four Finals MVP awards, making the first-team All-NBA 13 times and first-team NBA All-Defensive on five occasions, while also securing the Rookie of the Year Award in 2004.

Now being 38 years of age, while still playing and competing at an elite level, James is playing for the Lakers in a best-of-seven series against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

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LeBron James' 20th season in the NBA while playing for the Lakers

In his 20th season, LeBron James finished the regular season with an average of 28.9 points per game on 50.0% shooting, including 32.1% from three-point range, 8.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists while logging 35.5 minutes in the 55 games he has played.

James' Lakers started off slow in the regular season, but after some roster reconstruction and a late-season push, they managed to secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference. During the first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron averaged 22.2 points per game on 48.6% shooting, 11.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.3 blocks.

However, he made one of his biggest career accomplishments on February 7, 2023, wherein, he surpassed Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul Jabar in the NBA's All-Time scoring record with 38, 388 points scored in his long career.