Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is arguably the greatest player in NBA history. He establishes it even more so as he continues to collect records and milestones and play elite basketball despite nearing 40 and in his 22nd NBA season. With all of his historic achievements and accolades comes an impressive looking Basketball Reference page.
LeBron is a 20-time All-Star, 20-time All-NBA, six-time all-defense, four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP. Outside of his Rookie of the Year first campaign, he has never averaged less than 23 points, six assists or six rebounds for a full season in his entire career. He has finished top-five in MVP in 14 of his 21 full seasons.
So it’s no surprise that, in 2024, fans looked at James’ Basketball Reference page more than they did any other player. In a state-by-state breakdown released by Basketball Reference, James was the most viewed page in nearly every state in the U.S.
Here's a look at which Basketball Reference player pages had the most views in each state in 2024. pic.twitter.com/VCCX5CtU3J
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) December 10, 2024
LeBron winning 48 out of 50 states shows the level of relevance he has on the national basketball conversation. He has simply been around for so long that it is impossible to discuss the game without mentioning him and what he has accomplished.
And the three states he did lose are understandable, as he lost Massachusetts to Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. Tatum has been the Celtics’ best player for a very long time now, and with LeBron at the helm of the Lakers — Boston’s biggest rival historically, it tracks that fans wouldn’t want to view his page as often.
Giannis Antetokounmpo also unsurprisingly led the way in Wisconsin, where he stars for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The other is the Lakers’ biggest most recent boogeyman in the Denver Nuggets. Colorado has Nikola Jokić — who has an absurd Basketball Reference page in his own right — atop their search history.
But outside of those three generally anti-Laker states with their own superstars to focus on, LeBron is still the King. And all the evidence points to that as fact.
Lakers unlikely to trade LeBron James and enter rebuild
The Lakers do not look like much of an improved team from last season to this one. The organization had hoped that a new head coach would be able to lift a similar roster led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis to a better result than last year’s first-round exit.
However, 24 games in, the Lakers have a middling 13-11 record, have the 26th-ranked defense in the NBA and have the 14th-best offense in the league. None of those numbers inspire confidence for any sort of postseason run, especially in a dense Western Conference.
This leaves the Lakers with a big decision as to what they do at this season’s trade deadline if they continue to be a middle-of-the-pack team. Typically, a full-scale rebuild would be on the table, as a team with two aging superstars and very little chance at winning a championship, hitting the reset button could be the best choice for the franchise long-term.
It would be surprising to see the Lakers go that route, though, as they have yet to show a willingness as a franchise to intentionally rebuild or trade away superstars.
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