{"id":96905,"date":"2024-09-21T14:53:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T18:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=96905"},"modified":"2024-09-21T14:53:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T18:53:53","slug":"lebron-james-predicts-that-the-upcoming-season-will-be-unbelievable-for-himself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/21\/lebron-james-predicts-that-the-upcoming-season-will-be-unbelievable-for-himself\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James Predicts That The Upcoming Season Will Be Unbelievable For Himself"},"content":{"rendered":"

As mentioned numerous times before, Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> star LeBron James<\/a> is closer to the end of his career than the beginning.\u00a0 James will enter the 2024-25 season as the oldest player in the NBA, and the Lakers are coming off three straight disappointing regular seasons. While Lakers training camp is still nearly two weeks away, James believes this season will be unbelievable.<\/p>\n

LeBron James Predicts That The Upcoming Season Will Be Unbelievable For Himself<\/h2>\n

The Lakers and James<\/a> union has not been the “dream marriage” Lakers Nation had imagined when the nearly 40-year-old forward landed in LaLa land seven summers ago. Since joining the Lakers, LA has had the 10th-best regular season, though their 289 victories are 34 fewer than those of their former Crypto.com housemates during the stretch.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, over these past six seasons, Los Angeles has only won 50 games once, and the Lakers have failed to make the playoffs twice. Granted, the Lakers won the NBA Championship in the “bubble” (2020), but they have also failed to get out of the first round twice in their four playoff seasons.<\/p>\n

LA is coming off a 47-35 campaign last season, losing in the first round to Denver<\/a> in five games. Now, the Lakers have a new coaching staff, led by rookie head coach JJ Redick<\/a>. They also didn’t do much in terms of their roster.<\/p>\n

2024-25 Roster<\/h3>\n

James and Anthony Davis,<\/a> who are, by all accounts, the team’s go-to guys nowadays, will once again be the leaders. James has been great with the Lakers and is coming off an incredible season in which\u00a0he was named to an All-NBA team for the 20th time and named among the top 10 clutch players.<\/p>\n

But this season could legitimately be James last season. He will become the 29th NBA player ever<\/a> to appear in a game at 40 or older after his December 30th birthday and signed a one-plus-one contract this summer.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Davis<\/a> is coming off his best campaign over the last three seasons. He averaged a double-double for the second straight season and was named to the NBA All-Defensive team and the second-team All-NBA squad.<\/p>\n

James and Davis each played over 70 games during the regular season for the first time, and the Lakers were 39-25 in contests both players started (8-10 in contests both didn’t). The Lakers have a 64.3% winning percentage at 135-75 (in games James and Davis play).<\/p>\n

D’Angelo Russell,<\/a> Austin Reaves<\/a>, and Rui Hachimura<\/a> will likely round out the starting five. James, Davis, Russell, Reaves, and Hachimura were the Lakers’ most successful starting lineup a year ago (18-6) with a +6.7 scoring margin per 100 possessions.<\/p>\n

Knecht and Bronny James<\/h4>\n

The Lakers’ only newcomers this offseason that will be on their 15-man roster, unless a surprise trade occurs, are their 2024 draft picks, Dalton Knecht<\/a> and Bronny James.<\/a>\u00a0 Knecht could have a pretty significant role as arguably one of the best shooters on the team. Knecht made 2.1 treys a game during the summer league, though he only shot 34% from deep.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Bronny is not expected to see much time on the court, especially meaningful minutes, as he is seen as more of a development player. However, it is not surprising that James is excited to have his son on the team, as they are the first father-son duo in NBA history.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, it\u2019s definitely different in the sense of, you know, just mentioning with Bronny being a part of the team now, LeBron said on the Drfkings Golic and Gojo show. “I mean, I\u2019m looking at you two guys right now. I think it\u2019s one of the greatest things in the world to be able to work with your kid, you know. So, this week, we got back into the gym, and it was really the first time that me and I were on the floor as professionals training, going against each other, preparing for the season. And there were a couple moments where I kind of just lost focus, you know, and I\u2019m not used to losing focus when I\u2019m out on the floor. But, you know, a couple times I was just looking to the side, watching him, watching him prepare and watching him go after it. And it\u2019s going to be an unbelievable year for myself, and I hope for him as well.\u201d<\/div>\n