Getty LeBron James with Rudy Gay.
LeBron James has been considered one of the best in the world for over 16 seasons in the NBA. Even at 35 years old, the Los Angeles Lakers star still finds himself leading the Western Conference’s best team and in the middle of the MVP race. It defies logic how he’s still able to play as well as he does at his age, but much of LeBron’s career has defied logic.
San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay has also spent over a decade in the NBA and can’t believe what LeBron is doing. In an interview with Wosny Lambre of The Athletic, Gay had a unique comparison for the future Hall of Famer:
It’s crazy. Yeah. The thing about it is, I played, like you said, these 14 years for me. I’ve had injuries, I’ve done all of that. To see LeBron, at this point in his career, still be healthy and still be able to play at that pace, he’s like a Decepticon or something, man. Do you know what I mean? I don’t know how it is. It’s hard to believe, but it’s different than back in the days. He started at what — 19, 18 years old, coming in? And so at Year 17, he’s what, 34, 35?
By Gay calling LeBron a “Decepticon,” it sounds like he believes LeBron could be considered a villain. He’s spent many years being hated by many fan bases, so it’s not a terrible comparison from Gay.
LeBron or Giannis for MVP, Says Gay
Shortly before the NBA got suspended, LeBron had made his strongest case for him being the MVP favorite yet. He took it to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard in back-to-back games and led his team to wins in both games. Gay believes the MVP race has been narrowed to two players:
Man. It’s either Giannis or LeBron. I don’t know. I don’t really know which one. People could say a lot of different things about both of them. “LeBron has this team, and Giannis can’t shoot,” or whatever, but I feel like both of them have been playing well. Even Dame had a chance at it for a little bit. He had a chance at it. Obviously, the team, they’re doing well. It’s a lot of factors. It’s the MVP race, but I think everybody that’s had a good season deserves a chance at being considered, do you feel me? So it’s a lot of different guys in my eyes.
Giannis was the likely favorite before his team lost to the Lakers. LeBron has definitely narrowed whatever lead he had. The Lakers star will need to continue his hot streak once the NBA returns if he hopes to beat Giannis.
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Will LeBron & Lakers Keep up Pace When NBA Returns?
If the NBA season does continue from where it left, which is far from a certainty, the Lakers could suffer because of it. They are an older team and all of this time off could be detrimental to them. It could take players a while to get back in game shape.
At the same time, having some time off before the playoffs could be good for someone like LeBron as he could be recharged after some rest. This is an unprecedented time for the NBA and there are so many unknowns surrounding the league right now. It’ll be hard to get an idea of what’s going to happen until the world learns more about the current pandemic.
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