NBA legend Magic Johnson reveals why LeBron James is thirsting to win his 5th championship despite his unmatched longevity.
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King James was unable to defend his 2019-20 crown as the LA Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
The defending champions were considered one of the favorites entering the 2020-21 NBA season. The Lakers added some interesting pieces to its roster during the 2020-21 off-season, which included the likes of Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol.
Only 71 days into winning their championship, the Lakers were already getting ready to defend their crown in the upcoming 2020-21 season. The reason for this was this irregular start was the pandemic COVID19 that had disrupted the 2019-20 NBA calendar.
Despite this, the Lakers had a good start to the season. However, the shortened off-season saw its ill effects on Lakers star, Anthony Davis who struggled with injuries from the very start of the season. Davis re-aggravated his Achillies in March, which led to the 8x NBA All-Star missing 30 games.
This unfortunate incident was followed by LeBron James succumbing to a high ankle sprain during March that kept the 4x NBA champion out for 6 weeks, the longest absence in his 18-year career.
The Lakers found themselves in deep waters due to the injuries to its superstar duo. The LA team slipped from its position in the top 4. Finding themselves in the middle of a play-in tournament.
Nevertheless, James and Davis returned just in time for the playoffs but looked out of touch and rusty. The duo seemed to still struggle from their injuries, which was visible on the court as well.
LeBron James is chasing the ghost in Chicago
During an appearance on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin radio show, Lakers legend Magic Johnson spoke about James’ chances of winning his 5th ring.
Johnson revealed,” I think LeBron, he wants one more, He wants that fifth one. I got five. Kobe got five. So I know. He gotta be saying, ‘I gotta get five at least because I don’t think he gonna get the six like MJ, but that’s what he’s chasing. But he might get it but we just have to wait and see.”
Anthony Davis’ groin injury coupled with the poor performance of the supporting cast, was what led to the early ouster of the Lakers from the playoffs.
Magic, who was the former President of the Lakers basketball, also spoke about how the team needed to add more pieces to its roster, especially a player with great shooting abilities.
Magic further added how the absence of Danny Green, Rajan Rondo, Dwight Howard, and Javale Mcgee had hurt the Lakers this year.
The LA Lakers have a lot of work to do this off-season, while the health of its superstars King James and Anthony Davis remains their primary concern. They need to work on making the roster better, whether it means trying to acquire Toronto star Kyle Lowry or 6x NBA All-Star Damian Lillard.
