When James Worthy was asked about his top five Los Angeles Lakers of all time, he said that there wasn't a top five. "...Because there's so many of 'em," Worthy told TMZ Sports. And while he's right in a sense, that makes the LeBron James legacy question much harder. TMZ Sports questioned Worthy about James' impact not just on basketball but his impact on the most storied franchise in the NBA. Has LeBron done enough to be immortalized with a statue in front of the Crypto.com Arena?
"Depends on what he does here out," James Worthy said in response. "Personally -- and I think he'd agree -- he hasn't been here long enough. He's won a championship, but I think his overall greatness... You know, when you have a player like LeBron who breaks Kareem Abdul Jabar's record in Los Angeles... Then wins a championship as a Laker; you can't argue that he could get a statue in Los Angeles." The statues currently standing outside the stadium include Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and broadcaster Chick Hearn.
James Worthy Thinks LeBron Can Get Two Statues
James Worthy thinks LeBron will definitely get a statue in Cleveland for his time with the Cavaliers, as well as their lone championship back in 2016. However, if he wants another statue in the City of Angels, he needs to do a little bit more. Worthy, a Lakers legend in his own right, mentioned LeBron breaking Kareem's all-time scoring record in the purple and gold. LeBron James' total legacy could be enough to get his bronze bust in Los Angeles. Only time will tell.
LeBron recently announced that he was coming back for another season (which shocked absolutely nobody). And in honor of the late great Bill Russell, LeBron has said that he is switching his jersey number back to 23. The NBA retired Russell's number six last year. LeBron wore the number one more time to honor Bill and will now let it be retired for good. In year 21 in the league, LeBron James is looking for a fifth NBA championship to tie a bow on a historic career. James Worthy and the rest of us will have to wait and see.
[Via]