“The Lakers superteam? It’s not going to affect LeBron’s legacy. »

Very disappointing this season, the Lakers are becoming the laughingstock of the league as they count LeBron James in their ranks. Could the looming failure harm the four-time champion in the long term? A famous analyst rejects this idea, taking the example of Michael Jordan.

Authors of XXL recruitment during the summer, the Lakers already saw themselves back in the Finals after a disappointing 2020-21 campaign. Six months later, however, the results are much more lackluster than expected, LeBron James & co. not even being in the Top 8 of the West (27-31, 9ᵉ). Not quite what one might expect and criticism has been raining down endlessly on residents of the Crypto.com Arena for weeks now.

The King is not immune to murderous comments, with some bluntly believing that the ongoing fiasco could greatly affect his legacy once he retires. One can think in particular of the debate around the GOAT… Analyst for Fox Sports, Chris Broussard affirms however that the setbacks of the Californians should not be taken into account in the case of the multiple MVP. To support his thesis, he also takes the example of James’ main opponent in the race for the best player in history:

Chris Broussard defends LeBron against Lakers struggles

The Lakers missing the playoffs wouldn’t hurt LeBron’s legacy. Not at all ! His legacy is established, all he can do now is add to it. It can make it bigger, but it certainly can’t make it worse. He does not make the playoffs during his 19ᵉ season? We can’t blame him. When Michael Jordan missed the playoffs while playing in Washington, nobody blamed him either.

It’s a fact, it’s not uncommon for legends of the orange ball to end their careers with collective results other than phenomenal. Above all, despite his 37 years, LBJ continues to dominate individually on the courts with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists on average. We can hardly blame him, he who has held the Purples and Golds at arm’s length since last October. And as Broussard indicates, even His Airness had not managed to achieve a last feat, on the side of the Wizards.

The problem with this reasoning, however, is that the roster around the Chosen One is inherently much better than what MJ had between 2001 and 2003. Worse, it was the winger himself who blew his franchise what players recruit as a priority and he is therefore partly responsible for this failure. An argument that will be supported in particular by its most fervent detractors, and which can hardly be disputed.

Chris Broussard is convinced that a possible failure in 2021-22 will not harm LeBron, but it is difficult to remain as optimistic as him. The King is much more than a superstar on the parquet floor, he is also a part-time GM and we can blame him for part of the responsibility for this fiasco…