No one, other than perhaps the man himself, knows what LeBron James will do when it comes to his basketball career past this coming season. But at least for now, he remains a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and he’s coming off yet another excellent season.
The future Hall of Famer, who turned 40 years of age in late December, averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range last season. He has been relatively healthy over the last two seasons, and now that he’s option 1B behind Luka Doncic, he could start to age even more gracefully than he already has.
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On its list of the 10 best players in the NBA, ESPN ranked James at No. 8, just one spot lower than last year.
“James dropped one spot from No. 7 to No. 8 after a very strong 22nd season during which he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds, was named to the All-NBA second team and finished sixth in MVP voting. He has already shown unprecedented late-career production and will become the first player ever to play 23 seasons when he steps on the floor this fall. His NBA Rank prominence is unprecedented, too: fellow all-time great Kobe Bryant fell to No. 93 at the start of his 20th and final season in 2015-16.”
ESPN also noted that once James plays 50 more regular-season games, he will pass Robert Parish for the most games played in league history. That would be another feather in the cap for the player who already has the greatest longevity of any NBA player ever.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Where ESPN ranked LeBron James on its list of best NBA players