Every NBA franchise is looking for players that can be foundational pieces to build their team around. The Draft is oftentimes the best place to find these foundational pieces. Most of them will be found higher up in the draft, but some will fall through the cracks and end up going lower in the draft to better teams. That isn’t the case when you are referring to LeBron James. Coming out of St. Vincent-Saint Mary High School, James was touted as one of the best prospects ever and had insurmountable pressure on his shoulders to be one of the best players of all-time. All LeBron James has done in his 19 year NBA career has become one of, if not the greatest, NBA players of all-time.
LeBron James has garnered the respect of his peers ever since he entered the league and that was 19 years ago. LeBron James has turned this respect into being a team captain for this year’s All-Star game. Being named a captain just shows how much respect he has from his peers especially at the age of 37. LeBron James has been in the NBA longer than he hasn’t been and that’s just something that is mind-blowing to most people.
For the 5th time in his illustrious career, James is a captain for the NBA All-Star Game. For him to be a captain, he has to garner the most votes from the fans and that is quite the accomplishment for someone of his age to still be among the best in the league. The NBA has the best basketball players in the world and many of them are young, rising stars that are starting to take over the league. Stars like Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson are going to be household names for long periods of time and it makes LeBron James being named an All-Star captain even more impressive. LeBron James has been an All-Star for the vast majority of his career and he has done a spectacular job of being a role model for other players to follow in his footsteps. Who knows how many more All-Stars games LeBron will play in before it is all said and done.
In LeBron’s NBA career, he has amassed an in pressive 18 All-Star appearances. That is tied for 2nd all-time with the late great Kobe Bryant. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the most with 19. At the rate that LeBron James is playing right now, he will supplant Abdul-Jabbar in All-Star game appearances in 2024. The most impressive quality about LeBron James is how his body has held up for as long as it has given how deep his team goes into the playoffs each season. He’s played seasons worth of postseason play over the course of his career. It would be fair to assume that LeBron’s days as an All-Star are coming soon, but James has proven time and time again that he isn’t like any player before him. He is built differently and spends a great deal of money to keep himself in shape to maximize his dominance on the court.
At this point in time, it shouldn’t be a surprise that LeBron James is an All-Star. It also shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he was named a captain for the 2022 All-Star game. A captain is someone who epitomizes leadership and dedication. LeBron James fits that description perfectly and that is why he’s been one of the captains for the All-Star game since they introduced captains back in 2018. Not only has James been one of the best players in the league since being drafted in 2003, he has also been one of the most vocal players on and off the court. That undoubtedly has played a significant role in him being named a captain every year. Being an inspirational player plays a huge part, but also using his platform to promote social justice makes his influence deeper than any player in the game right now.
The thing that makes LeBron James great, however, is the journey it took to get to this point. LeBron grew up without a father in his life and had a mother who worked plenty of jobs to make ends meet. His mother, Gloria, felt it was in the best interests of her son to move in with Frank Walker and be in a more stable environment that was conducive to his success. LeBron grew up with a ton of pressure with being named Ohio Mr. Basketball and being selected to the USA Today All-USA First team three consecutive years. The amount of pressure to succeed was monumental, but James wasn’t the kind of person to back down from a challenge. He took everything in stride and it made him into the player that he is today. LeBron has had a chip on his shoulder his entire life and you can see that every time you see him on the court.
When it is all said and done, there will be a case to be made that LeBron James could arguably be the best basketball player in NBA history. His talent and work ethic is undeniable and it stems from his childhood and this need to prove everyone wrong about him. Once James had a taste of success, he wouldn’t be denied in his quest to eb the best basketball player that he could be. It should come as a surprise to no one that LeBron James is an All-Star captain. All LeBron James has done over the course of his 19-year NBA career has dominated and provided guidance and wisdom to everyone who he has talked to. A perfect role model, James is the perfect person to represent the best players in the world and being named a captain is the ideal way of the players and coaches showing their appreciation for all that he’s done for the game of basketball. Kids from all over the world should get his basketball cards and have it in their room and reminisce at his greatness because he might end up as the best player of all-time. Enjoy everything he does because he won’t be around forever.
Tags: All-Star Game, Basketball, LeBron James, NBA
