NBA: Retired Lakers Center Believes LeBron James Can Piece Things Together In Hollywood

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has gotten his fair share of criticism despite having accomplished so much in his NBA career. Heading into his 16th season, the only thing left for the top pick of the 2003 NBA Draft would be delivering a title for the purple and gold. It could be the icing on the cake for the 34-year-old star proving he has delivered a title to all teams he has suited up for.

As far as Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, there is no question that James will be a future Hall of Famer. Apparently keeping tabs with his progress, the 72-year-old best known for his scoring and skyhook shots feels that LeBron has nothing really to prove as far as his basketball career is concerned.

“He’s already shown he’s still the complete player that the Lakers wanted so I don’t think he needs to worry about that,” Abdul-Jabbar said in a phone interview with the Los Angeles Times.

And like most NBA critics, Abdul-Jabbar knows that the Lakers will only succeed if he is surrounded with the right players. So far, it appears that the three-time NBA champion has gotten that with the addition of Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Danny Green among others.

“They just needed to put the right pieces in place around him. You can’t win a world championship with just one elite player. You need some help and I think he has that now,” said the six-time NBA MVP who played for the Lakers from 1975 to 1989.

Looking ahead, it will be interesting if James will end his NBA career in a Lakers jersey. He is in the second year of his four-year $154 million deal but will have a player option in 2021 per Spotrac. He would be 36-years-old by that time and it would be interesting if he opts out and join another NBA team. If he opts in, he could eventually finish his career with the Lakers.

And if the star aligns for The King and the Lakers, the next three-years could be memorable. This is assuming that James and the Lakers can win three-straight NBA titles - allowing The King to equal the NBA titles of Abdul-Jabbar who is a six-time NBA champion.