Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the NBA, and a true generational talent. Perhaps the next great generational talent in the league today is San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama who in his second season has made his first NBA All-Star team and is the runaway favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.
While Wembanyama is just getting his career started, LeBron is nearing the end of his as he is currently in his 22nd NBA season and is somehow still amongst the game’s elite players. Most wouldn’t call him the best player in the league anymore, but he is still exceptional and that is extremely impressive to Wembanyama.
In fact, the Spurs phenom feels James isn’t getting enough credit for how good he still is. When he was asked who he feels is the most underrated player in the NBA, Wembanyama pointed to the Lakers superstar, via NBA on TNT:
“I’m gonna go with LeBron. Underrated just means you’re not rated at your right value right? I think LeBron is underrated.”
Wembanyama took the underrated title literally, and he feels LeBron’s game isn’t rated properly right now. There can be a lot of focus on James’ age and the things he can’t do as consistently as he did in his prime, but that should only be expected considering he is 40 years old now.
The fact that LeBron is still making All-Star teams in his 22nd season, and not simply due to his name and popularity, but is deserving of the accolade is absolutely astonishing. James is averaging 24.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists while also flirting with 40% shooting from 3-point range for the second year in a row. He also ranks second in the league with 10 triple-doubles, trailing only reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
To be clear, LeBron does receive a ton of praise for his continued level of play, but in the eyes of Wembanyama it is not enough as James remains one of the league’s greats and continues to push the Lakers towards contention.
Dalton Knecht looking forward to facing Lakers teammate LeBron James at All-Star Game
Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht will be making his first All-Star Game appearance as part of the winning team of the Castrol Rising Stars who will now be the fourth team in Sunday’s tournament format. They will be facing off against ‘Shaq’s OGs’ which features his teammate LeBron James and Knecht is looking forward to going against him.
“It might be a lot of fun, the young guys, or us, we’re going to try to go out there and go against those guys,” Knecht added. “I’m not sure about — I’m playing against Bron, so I get to go against one of my teammates. So, it’ll be a lot of fun to go out there and try to make a statement.”
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