Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has accomplished nearly everything the NBA has to offer in his 22 seasons. A four-time champion and Finals MVP, James is also the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
While much of his success came before joining Los Angeles in 2018, James has had a very impressive Lakers tenure. In his seventh season with LA, James had been an All-Star each year, adding a championship and Finals MVP award in 2020.
Given his achievements in a Lakers uniform, James will certainly have at least one of his jersey numbers (6 and 23) retired by the franchise one day, but has he done enough to receive a statue outside Crypto.com Arena?
One of the most iconic franchises in sports history, the Lakers have statues of Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West outside of their arena (h/t NBA).
With James' career nearing its end, the Lakers face a decision on whether to honor him this way.
Should the Lakers build a statue for LeBron? pic.twitter.com/mR2r1He3hz
— BronMuse (@BronMuse) March 18, 2025
As Los Angeles mulls over this decision, O'Neal weighed in during an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson.
"LeBron broke the record, and he did it as a Laker," O'Neal said of James becoming the NBA's all-time leading scorer. "Would I oppose him having a statue in Los Angeles? No, I wouldn't… But he won a championship with the Lakers, and a lot of people try to discredit it. If that one doesn't count, then you can't count Mr. Duncan's bubble championship either. That's right. I said it! If we're counting Tim Duncan's lockout-year championship, then you have to count LeBron's too."
Shaq:
"LeBron broke the record, and he did it as a Laker. Would I oppose him having a statue in Los Angeles? No, I wouldn't… But he won a championship with the Lakers, and a lot of people try to discredit it. If that one doesn't count, then you can't count Mr. Duncan's bubble… pic.twitter.com/XlTwCOKowz
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 30, 2025
Having a statue himself, O'Neal's opinion on this topic certainly holds weight. The four-time NBA champion (three with Los Angeles) would not oppose James joining him outside Crypto.com Arena as the team's seventh player with a statue.
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This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 4:11 PM.