LeBron James is quite literally a cyborg. Age hasn’t affected his gameplay the way it has other players in similar positions, and for that, Skip Bayless believes he deserves some attention.
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The Lakers started out the season disappointingly once more, but in recent weeks, they’ve picked it up. Most of that transformation came from Anthony Davis’s ascension into an MVP candidate.
They did have a recent stretch of bad games, losing three straight to the Cavs, Raptors, and 76ers, but they were able to bounce back with a win against the Detroit Pistons.
LeBron James is still performing at a high level. He’s averaging 26.2 ppg, 8.6 rbpg, and 6.3 assists per game, being the perfect facilitator, and is now second-man to Anthony Davis.
LeBron James over the last 6 Games:
31 PTS – 8 AST – 7 REB
28 PTS – 11 AST – 8 REB
29 PTS – 6 AST – 8 REB
21 PTS – 4 AST – 17 REB
23 PTS – 6 AST – 4 REB
35 PTS – 5 AST – 5 REB pic.twitter.com/YqC4fyDCIR— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 13, 2022
Skip Bayless deserves LeBron James deserves an award
Recently, the NBA announced a revamp of their awards. They changed/added the names of 6 awards. There’s a full list of which award names were changed, including the addition of the ‘Clutch Player of the Year’ award here:
New names and trophies for NBA’s major individual awards:
– MVP: The Michael Jordan Trophy
– DPOY: Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy
– ROY: Wilt Chamberlain Trophy
– Sixth Man of Year: John Havlicek Trophy
– Most Improved: George Mikan Trophy
– New Clutch Player of Year: Jerry West Trophy— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 13, 2022
Skip Bayless believes the NBA should add one more. Given how well LeBron has taken care of his body this late into his career, he believes that the King deserves a trophy to mark his commitment to his body.
LeBron’s name should be permanently attached to the Longevity Award given annually to the player who has the best late-career season.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 13, 2022
It’s surprising to see Skip give LeBron any credit at all, but he does have a point. Nobody else has played this well, this late into their career in the modern era.
LeBron stays chasing Kareem and all-time greatness
LeBron is looking to surpass the other player who did this well for so long this season as well. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA record holder for most points in history, and LeBron is currently 829 points away from beating his mark. If he continues at his current pace, LeBron would need about 31-32 more games.
The fact that he’s managed to get to Kareem’s record is telling of just how long he’s been consistent. Kareem’s mark of 38,387 seemed untouchable for the longest time, and yet, here we are.
Behind Kareem and LeBron, Karl Malone is at 36,928, and the next active player on the list is Kevin Durant at 18th place with 26,366.
