{"id":116002,"date":"2025-09-03T05:40:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T05:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116002\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T05:40:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T05:40:06","slug":"ex-celtics-stars-lebron-james-prediction-could-shake-up-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116002\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Celtics Star&#8217;s LeBron James Prediction Could Shake Up NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_lrabhnw60\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_ksj615\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LeBron James<\/a> doesn\u2019t have much left to prove. The <a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_ksj615\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/nba\/fastbreak\/news\/si.com\/nba\/lakers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>\u2019 forward will go down as a legend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_1pe723pdp\">At 40 years old, LeBron is gearing up for what could potentially be his final season with the Lakers. After picking up his $52.6 million player option, James is set to become a free agent in 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_w3732ne60\">The future Hall of Famer hasn\u2019t confirmed that this is the last dance. Reports surrounding James suggest that his mind isn\u2019t made up on that front. <\/p>\n<p><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"LeBron Jame\" title=\"LeBron Jame\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images \/ Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_owkq2lgqp\">But if the former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce had to guess, the 2025-2026 NBA season will be it for the Lakers\u2019 star.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_29f1hpoqm\">\u201cIf I\u2019m a betting man, I think this will be his last season,\u201d Pierce said recently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_0zxyvav0e\">\u201cHe\u2019s been the GOAT for so long. He\u2019s maintained the stats. We appreciate what he brought to the game and how he\u2019s held the mantle since (Michael) Jordan left. Bron is one of them ones. We appreciate him, but I think his time is up. We appreciate what he\u2019s done for the league.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Paul Pierce thinks this will be LeBron James last season in the NBA \ud83d\udc40 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been the GOAT for so long, he\u2019s maintained the stats\u2026 I think his time is up but we appreciate what he\u2019s done for the league.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Lo15gqbSDE\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/Lo15gqbSDE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Fullcourtpass\/status\/1962996716707152151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">September 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_67gz8g6ch\">Since 2003, LeBron James has been one of the most prominent players in the NBA. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_q57po2zwl\">Coming to the NBA straight out of high school as the first-overall pick in the NBA Draft, James lived up to the hype. Right out of the gate, he started 79 games as a rookie. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_agze7zhcy\">By year three, James was averaging over 30 points per game through an entire season. He\u2019s been an All-Star for nearly every single season of his career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_0qd8c20l0\">While LeBron remains a dominant presence even in his later days with the Lakers, he\u2019s still on the hunt for his fifth championship. His last NBA Finals victory came during the 2020 season, when the Lakers won it all in the Florida bubble.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"LeBron James, Paul Pierc\" title=\"LeBron James, Paul Pierc\"\/><\/p>\n<p>May 7, 2011; Boston, MA, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) holds the ball away from Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) in game three of the second round of the 2011 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images \/ David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_fer6m7dh3\">Last year, LeBron appeared in 70 games for LA. He posted averages of 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_of57474us\">It\u2019s clear the Lakers have prepared themselves for life after LeBron by adding Luka Doncic through the trade market last year, but \u201cThe King\u201d isn\u2019t done just yet. By picking up his player option, LeBron committed to another run with the Lakers. He\u2019s hoping to snatch at least one more title before he goes out for good. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_u1p0dxsa5\">If Pierce\u2019s prediction is right, LeBron\u2019s decision would surely shake up the NBA, as he\u2019s been such a dominant force in the game for so long. <\/p>\n<p>More Fastbreak on SI<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James doesn\u2019t have much left to prove. The Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 forward will go down as a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-116002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}