NBA Hall Of Famer Picks LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers To Win Title

NBA legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen is picking the Los Angeles Lakers to win the Larry O’Brien this year. A six-time NBA Champion himself, the former Chicago Bulls star forward said the current Lakers are poised to go all the way to win the chip as he emphasized the purple and gold’s ultimate advantage – LeBron James.

Appearing in the latest episode of Da Windy City with Mark Carman, Pippen stressed that the NBA hiatus caused by the pandemic would most benefit the Lakers, whom he expects to rely on James to become the ultimate glue guy for the squad.

“I got to go with LeBron’s ability to pull a team together and the impact that he can make with them in such a short period of time,” said Pippen, who had previously picked the Clippers for the chip before the suspension of the games.

“Everything plays such a huge role going forward that I think LeBron’s value of what he brings to the game is going to be as big as ever right now.”

Pippen’s claims underlining James’ ability to spearhead a team in the Playoffs are backed by numbers and other data. In 17 seasons, the 35-year-old Akron, Ohio native has been bruised and battered by numerous physical and mental wars in the postseason play where he had a fair share of setbacks and victories.

Now faced with an unprecedented type of competition – that is to play sans any homecourt advantage – Pippen is counting on the King to pounce on the chance to lead the Lake Show fans back to the promised land.

Despite his age, James continues to deliver and is in fact still making a case for another MVP award. He is averaging 25.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 10.6 assists a game while shooting 50% from the field and 35% from three, not to mention that he is the league-leader in assists and the only player with double-digit dimes this season.

The Lakers’ bid for another championship starts on Thursday as the team is scheduled to take the initial acid test inside the Orlando bubble against the Clippers. Despite the hiccups due to some players’ commitment issues ahead of the restart, the Frank Vogel-led team is still tagged as favorites to win the title with a +200-price based on Vegas Odds.