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LeBron James is about to begin his 19th season in the NBA. As the curtains open on the 75th anniversary season of the league, LeBron will lead the LA Lakers’ challenge in the upcoming season at age 36. Given that LeBron celebrates his birthday on December 30, he will be 37 by the end of the regular season. That he is still playing at an elite level, even at this stage of his career, says a lot about LeBron’s claim to the greatest of all-time (GOAT) status.
LeBron is a 17-time All-Star. He is a four-time NBA champion, four-time Finals MVP and four-time regular season MVP. He was the 2004 Rookie of the Year and is a 17-time All-NBA member. There is no denying that he has a definite place in the GOAT conversation, but he could further enhance his claim as the first among equals since he still has some distance to go before he calls time on his career. With that perspective, we look at three such things that LeBron could do to solidify his hold on GOAT status in the upcoming 2021-22 NBA season.
#1 LeBron could win Defensive Player of the Year
The NBA’s DPOY honor was given out for the first time in the 1982-83 season, which is why Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell never won it. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s best days were probably behind him by the time the award came into existence. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant never won the honor, but that doesn’t nullify their name being taken in the GOAT conversation.
But if LeBron can add this honor to his list of NBA achievements, it would be a huge feather in his cap. LeBron has made it to six NBA All-Defensive teams, but the lack of a DPOY award gives Michael Jordan fans legitimate bragging rights over LeBron's backers on this count. Jordan won the DPOY in the 1987-88 season.
The difficult thing for LeBron is that he is 36 at the moment. Dikembe Mutombo, who won DPOY on a record four occasions (tied with Ben Wallace), is the oldest recipient of the honor when he won the award at age 34 for his defensive play in the 2000-01 NBA season. For LeBron to do better than Mutombo, he will really have to do something extra special this season to add the honor to his resume.
#2 LeBron becomes the oldest regular season MVP at age 37
LeBron has four regular-season MVP awards to his credit. He trails on that count to Kareem, who has a record six MVP honors; Russell and Jordan, who both have five MVPs each to their name. LeBron is tied with Chamberlain, who has four regular-season MVP trophies as well.
One way in which LeBron could add an edge to his GOAT claim is by winning a fifth MVP. He would still be tied with Jordan and Russell and would continue to trail Kareem by one MVP honor in that scenario, but should LeBron win MVP in 2021-22, he would become the oldest recipient of the award in NBA history.
Currently, Karl Malone is the NBA’s oldest regular season MVP. Malone achieved this distinction when he won MVP at age 35 for the 1998-99 lockout-shortened, 50-game NBA season. If LeBron wins the award at age 37, he would really give his fans some extra ammunition to arm themselves with whenever any GOAT discussion takes place.
#3 LeBron leads the Lakers to an NBA-best 18th championship
LeBron has won an NBA title with three different franchises. He won his first two titles with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013. He won his fourth and final ring with the Lakers in 2020. But his best NBA championship was the one that he won with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. That ring would be extra special to LeBron because not only did he win a championship for his home state of Ohio, it was Cleveland’s first NBA title in their franchise history. Also, the manner in which he led the Cavs to that title, helping them overcome a 1-3 deficit to win the series 4-3 against a historic Golden State Warriors team, was really a special effort by LeBron.
Now, having led the Lakers to their 17th championship in 2020, if LeBron can help the Lakers go one better than their arch rivals the Boston Celtics (the Celtics also have 17 NBA titles), it would really add to LeBron’s legend. Counting the one with Cleveland, LeBron would then have two historic NBA titles against his name, clearly elevating his status to numero uno among the NBA’s Mount Rushmore.
