In a recent poll, for best player in the NBA, it was a surprise to every fan that LeBron had received zero of the votes from executives and scouts. So what does this mean? Well according to the poll, it means LeBron’s not number one anymore! So who is? Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, both tied with 5 votes are deemed the best players in the league. LeBron quickly responded to the poll on Twitter, and in his tweet, he seemed fueled by this sudden disrespect of “losing his throne”. 

Personally, I’d have to agree with the poll. No this isn’t bias, and no I am not a LeBron hater. In fact, I’ve been a fan of LeBron ever since I started watching basketball back in 2015. It’s just plain simple why he isn’t the best anymore, yes, old age has finally started to catch up with him. Playing less and fewer minutes every single season. But the most important reason why he isn’t on top anymore, the numbers. For contextualization, here’s a stat sheet of Lebron, Durant, and Giannis 2020-2021 season. Just by taking a look at the stat sheets, we can easily tell that Giannis and Durant, are ahead of LeBron, statistically. The efficiency stands out the brightest clearly. It’s like that question sports analysts get asked all the time, “with the fate of the universe the line, who are you letting take this shot”? Are you picking a man who shoots a career 36% from the three-point line, or a sharpshooter like Kevin Durant who knocks down threes at 45% from the line?

Now that we’ve distinguished why LeBron is personally not number one, let’s talk about how long. How long till he retires, It doesn’t look like he’ll stop anytime soon, in fact, he still has dreams to fulfill. Such as playing with his eldest son which at the current time is a junior in high school. LeBron is very centered on taking care of his body, so I’d definitely say he can continue playing for 4 years without regressing significantly. However, he personally thinks he can last longer.

So, where does he stand? In my opinion, I’d have to say number 5. In order from 1st to 5th, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James. Some say otherwise, ESPN 2021-2022 top player predictions has LeBron at 9. I clearly don’t agree, but it seems NBA.com does, having LeBron ranked at number 10! An interview asking NBA legends and current players if they would have LeBron or Jordan was done a few months ago during the 2021 season which resulted in (18) Jordan, and (15) LeBron. I truly do believe LeBron can surpass Jordan, and sometimes I feel like he already has.

October 3rd is the start of pre-season, and only then will we be able to see our players run, defend, and score down the court again in the heat of the moment. And only then, will we fans have the chance to really see, is retirement calling LeBron’s name?