The latest ex-player to put his name on that notion is Rashad McCants, a four-year veteran of the league (Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings) and a standout in college at North Carolina where he won a national championship in the 2004-05 season -- one year after James entered the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. LeBron James averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks in the series. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in Game 5 after Donte DiVincenzo crashed into him.

There's no question that the Los Angeles Lakers were disappointing during the playoffs. There's a good chance that the organization expected to struggle a bit without a dominant big man to replace Anthony Davis.