Lakerholics

Pro sports is replete with key moments or tuning points that transformed careers and changed legacies of players and teams. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves at one of those moments.

With the coronavirus pandemic not only threatening the current season but also the future of how we watch and enjoy NBA basketball, the legacies of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers are on the line. Whether they have an opportunity to resume play and how they perform under unexpected and unpredictable situations will go a long way towards determining how sports history views them as players and as a team.

For 35-year old LeBron James, missing a golden opportunity to win his first championship as a Laker and fourth overall would be a big disappointment while winning would add major credence to his drive to be the best ever. And it would unlock the door to the possibility of winning a second and third championship in purple and gold to not only solidify James’ position as a Lakers great but also launch him on a path to replace Jordan as GOAT.

Meanwhile, winning his first championship would solidify chances Anthony Davis would sign with the Lakers long term and give him a boost in the competition to assume the crown as the best player of the next decade. Helping lead the Lakers to the championship over the Clippers and Bucks could elevate Davis to the level of the Leonard and Antetokounmpo and give him a head start on surpassing them in the race for 2020’s supremacy.

As for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning their 17th championship would tie them with their rival Boston Celtics for the most NBA championships and make them the odds on favorites to repeat and attract another superstar. The Lakers winning could also conceivably trigger Giannis Antetokounmpo to decline a supermax offer from the Bucks this offseason to become a free agent the following offseason and possibly sign with the purple and gold.

Every great superstar legacy and franchise dynasty has been launched by a memorable title triumph and winning a championship this season could be the key to unlock the door to greatness for LeBron, AD, and the Lakers.

This is the last in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here are links to our five previous articles covering Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Luka Doncic.

Heralded by everyone as the next LeBron James coming out of high school, the 6′ 6″, 280 lb 19-year old Zion Williamson has the freakish athleticism and otherworldly physicality the NBA has not seen since LeBron James.

The challenge for Zion to become the new king of the decade is he’s just 19 years old, not even a full season out of high school, and is likely going to need a few years to develop his game and grow into a legitimate superstar. The torn meniscus he suffered in his right knee that cost him half of his rookie season only added to the concerns certain experts had about his possible propensity to get injured because of his style of play and weight.

Despite missing the first half of the season and playing in only 19 games before the season was suspended, Zion Williamson gave fans good reasons to believe all of the hype about him being the next LeBron James were real. He not only showed flashes of the athleticism and physicality that had made him the unquestioned number one pick in the draft but also an impressive ability to shoot well from three-point range he never displayed in college.

While it may take some a couple of years to get going, Zion has the raw physical talent and athleticism to elevate his game to a level few superstars could match and is surrounded on the Pelicans by a talented young roster. Five years from now, it’s possible he could be the best player and the Pelicans one of the best teams in the league but prevailing as best player of the decade won’t be easy playing in a small market like New Orleans.

As the assumed heir apparent to LeBron James, many NBA pundits believe uber talented Zion Williamson is destined to take over the throne and rule the decade of the 2020’s much as the King presided over the 2010’s.

This is the 5th in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here are links to our four previous articles covering Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis.

Luka Doncic looks more like the NBA version of ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ than a legit candidate to defeat an elite cast of athletically gifted superstars like Giannis, Kawhi, and KD to become best player of the next decade.

But looks can be deceiving and the 6′ 7″, 230 lb 21-year old Luka’s dramatic rise to superstar status and head-to-head exploits against proven superstars like LeBron, Giannis, and Kawhi in two short seasons have turned heads. Luka could finish the decade in the heart of his prime while competitors could be winding down their careers, bolstering the idea Doncic could be the dark horse winner in the race to be king of the NBA for the 2020’s.

To reach those heights, the Luka and KP Mavericks are going to have show they have the talent and drive to compete with championship competitors in the Wild West like the LeBron and AD Lakers and Kawhi and PG Clippers. The road for Luka Doncic to earn the title of king of the next decade not only requires multiple MVP awards and multiple NBA championships for the Dallas Mavs but also goes directly through the city of Los Angeles.

Luka Doncic is already putting up near triple-double superstar numbers in only his second season and nobody really knows how high his ceiling as a player may be since he is still only just 21-years old and not near his peak. Already averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8,7 assists, Luka’s best could be something we haven’t seen in today’s modern NBA and could set new standards for what qualifies as superstar performance in the future.

While he might lack the supernatural physical talent of other candidates competing for king of the 2020’s, Luka Doncic with his savvy court sense and smarts might turn out to be the best basketball player of the decade.

This is the 4th in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here are links to our three previous articles covering Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant.

Despite spending his first seven years with the Pelicans out of the spotlight and his year with the Lakers in the shadow of LeBron James, Anthony Davis has the physical talent and basketball skills to be king of the next decade.

Like the 25-year old Antetokounmpo, the 6′ 10″, 250 lb 27-year old Davis is young enough to enjoy a championship caliber career that could span the entire decade of the 2020’s much like James did for the decade of 2010’s. And unlike the 28-year Leonard or 31-year old Durant, Davis has been able to avoid suffering any major injuries and could have the opportunity to play at his highest possible level for the entire decade, including the last years.

The keys to Anthony Davis replicating LeBron James’ decade long reign as the king of the NBA will be his ability to win multiple NBA championships with the Lakers before LeBron retires and dominating the post James era. That will require the Anthony Davis and LeBron James Lakers to prevail over the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George Clippers, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton Bucks, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Nets.

The challenge Anthony Davis will face to be the best player on the planet for the next decade is proving he can break out from LeBron’s shadow and lead the Lakers to championships in the 2020’s years after James has retired. Taking the torch from LeBron James as superstar leader of the Los Angeles Lakers just as LeBron James took the torch from Kobe Bryant would make Anthony Davis the favorite to take the throne as best player of his decade.

While Anthony Davis may not be the favorite for best player of the 2020’s, he has the talent and position to pass the younger Giannis Antetokounmpo as well as the older, more injury plagued Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant.

This is the 3rd in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here are links to our two previous articles covering Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard.

A two-time NBA Finals MVP and NBA champion, Kevin Durant was another superstar whom, like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard, analysts believed had surpassed LeBron James to be the best player in the league.

Even though age and recent Achilles injury have taken some of the luster off his chances to dethrone James and become the best player of the 2020’s, the 6′ 10″, 240 lb 31-year old Durant cannot be discounted as a candidate. Before his injury during last year’s Finals, many experts considered Kevin to be the best player in the NBA after leading the Golden State Warriors to back-to-back championships over LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now with his third team in twelve years, Kevin Durant has joined Kyrie Irving and a talented young Brooklyn Nets team that should be one of the favorites to challenge the Milwaukee Bucks as the best team in the East. Like Giannis and the Bucks and Kawhi and the Clippers, Kevin and the Nets will need to become a dominant team and win multiple NBA championships for him to have a chance to earn honors as the best player of the decade.

How KD recovers from his torn Achilles will determine whether he’ll be able to come back and be included in the conversation as to which superstar will assume the throne from LeBron and become the king for the next decade. The 31-year old, Durant will face an uphill battle not only to regain the transcendent ability he had before the injury but also to stay relevant and rule for an entire decade in the 2020’s as LeBron did during the 2010’s.

If Kevin can fully recover from his Achilles injury and with Kyrie turn the Brooklyn Nets into an NBA long-term dynasty, he could then beat the long odds and be able to replace LeBron as the NBA king of the next decade.