The Los Angeles Lakers have gradually climbed the Western Conference standings with their 20-16 record. LeBron James, the team’s star, claims that the squad has discovered its identity, which will enable them to perform even better in the last stretch of the 2024–25 NBA season.
During his Monday appearance as a guest on “GoJo and Golic,” he discussed how the club may make major progress in the upcoming months. James was asked if he thinks the Lakers have found their identity, and he had this to say:
“Yeah, I think so,” James answered. “I think our identity is one – defensively we want to bring physicality to the game – make teams try to do something that they do not like to do. And then offensively, we want to share the ball. We’re very good when we’re up in the high 20s in assists.
“I feel like we have so much more room to improve. We are not the team I believe we’re going to be once February, March hit. But I do like our chances. And we got to continue to just put the work in and that’s all that matters.”
“We’re not the team I believe we're going to be once February and March hit, but I do like our chances”
– LeBron 👀 pic.twitter.com/5vgmXO0HCy
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) January 13, 2025
James is largely responsible for the Lakers’ success this season. In 33 games, the talented forward, 40, is averaging 23.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 8.8 assists.
Additionally, they traded point guard D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith. Their roster move helped them improve defensively.
Former NBA star spoke highly of LeBron James’ performance at 40 years old
Even at 40, LeBron James is still playing at the highest level thanks to his longevity. Many have likened his numbers to those of Michael Jordan, who also played in the league at the age of 40, based on his performance this season.
However, their numbers and expectations are widely different. In the 2002–03 season, Jordan was a member of the Washington Wizards, a team that was not aiming for a championship at the moment. In 82 games, MJ had 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists.
James, on the other hand, has title expectations as the Lakers have formed a team that wants to contend for the Larry O’Brien trophy. This led former NBA star Gilbert Arenas to address the polarizing situations of the stars who are often compared to each other.
“The best 40-year-old that played is LeBron, the second-best 40-year-old was Michael Jordan. They didn’t expect anything from MJ, they were just so happy to see a 40-year-old go out there, average 20,” Arenas said.
“The best 40-year old that played is LeBron, the second best is Michael Jordan.”
Gil lets it be known who the GOAT old head is 😅 pic.twitter.com/xxIeZjrnT1
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) January 11, 2025
“Why are they putting so much effort into trying to tear LeBron down for just trying to play at 40? Like, we’re pretending that he’s 20…Like, ‘He’s expected to win a championship’, he’s 40!”
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
