{"id":87352,"date":"2025-08-10T01:51:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T01:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=87352"},"modified":"2025-08-10T01:51:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T01:51:06","slug":"report-insiders-bold-prediction-is-bad-news-for-lebron-james-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=87352","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Insider\u2019s Bold Prediction Is Bad News For LeBron James, Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0have\u00a0made the decision\u00a0that\u00a0Luka Doncic\u00a0will lead the team going forward. While\u00a0LeBron James\u00a0enters the final year of his contract, the Lakers have shifted their focus to their new, younger superstar.<\/p>\n

While that notion might not bode well for James, an insider\u2019s latest prediction could also be bad news for him during the season.\u00a0Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report wrote\u00a0that Doncic, not James, would be the one taking the last shot in close games for Los Angeles next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe five-time All-Star appearing to be in terrific shape should help those legs stay fresh in the fourth quarter and a new\u00a0three-year, $165 million\u00a0extension only helps solidify his position at the Lakers\u2019 new alpha,\u201d he wrote. \u201cJames should still get his share of late-heroics (if he\u2019s not traded), although Don\u010di\u0107 will get most of the opportunity to add to his already\u00a0incredible list of buzzer beaters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, James had more fourth-quarter points than Doncic. He was fifth in the league with 7.2 points per fourth quarter, while Doncic was 42nd at 5.3 per fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

Lakers In The Clutch<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Lakers went with James in the clutch more than Doncic last season. According to the NBA\u2019s\u00a0\u2018clutch stats,\u2019\u00a0which takes into account games within five points in the final five minutes, James averaged 2.6 points on 51.8% shooting. Opposingly, Doncic was only at 1.9 points on 39.5% shooting,\u00a0ranking tied for 93rd.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames actually took on a larger fourth-quarter offensive role following the All-Star break (8.5 points on 6.0 field-goal attempts, 6.6 points on 5.0 attempts before), not looking like someone who was ready to give up the crown quite yet,\u201d Swartz added. \u201cDon\u010di\u0107 didn\u2019t even take as many end-of-game shots as\u00a0Austin Reaves. Expect that to change this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers played in\u00a039 \u2018clutch\u2019 games\u00a0in which the score was within five in the last five minutes, the 11th most in the NBA. However,\u00a0they ranked seventh\u00a0in win percentage, ending victorious in 59% of the time.<\/p>\n

James has been known to be\u00a0one of the best closers in the league, especially\u00a0in the postseason,\u00a0but\u00a0Doncic has done the same. While his fourth-quarter numbers were a bit down compared to those in the other seasons of his career, that could have been due to the mid-season change of scenery that saw him end up in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Even still, the Lakers having two \u2018number one\u2019 options is pretty impressive, and having to decide between James or Doncic taking the last shot is a problem most teams would love to have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Quick sidenote, there were a few teams on Bleacher Report\u2019s \u2018players taking the last-shot\u2019 list that had some surprising names. Among those included are\u00a0Cooper Flagg\u00a0on the\u00a0Dallas Mavericks,\u00a0Benedict Mathurin\u00a0of the\u00a0Indiana Pacers, and\u00a0Franz Wagner\u00a0of the\u00a0Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n

\n

LeBron James\u2019 Historic Records<\/span><\/h2>\n

Regardless of whether he ends up being the late-game hero for the Lakers next season, James even being in the conversation for that task at 40 years old is pretty astounding. While he looks to be entering the twilight of his career, his resume proves that he\u2019s still a good option to take an important shot down the stretch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just for context, here are some of James\u2019 records that will likely never be topped in NBA history:<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Playoff Wins<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

:\u00a0In an\u00a0article written on HoopsHype, Frank Urbina discovered the incredible statistic that James has more playoff wins than any other team since he entered the league in 2003. His 184 total playoff wins are more than the\u00a0Boston Celtics\u2018 144 and the\u00a0Miami Heat\u2019s\u00a0143.<\/p>\n

James also leads the NBA in all-time playoff wins, ahead of notable Lakers and\u00a0San Antonio Spurs\u00a0players like Derek Fisher, Tim Duncan, Robert Horry, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.<\/p>\n

Most Consecutive 10+ Point Games:\u00a0In what might be one of his most underrated achievements, James has gone\u00a01,290 consecutive regular-season games\u00a0scoring at least 10 points. The streak started in 2007, and the closest current player to reach the mark was\u00a0James Harden,\u00a0but he was more than 800 games off. Michael Jordan had the previous record with 866 consecutive games with at least 10 points.<\/p>\n

Most Points:\u00a0Finally, and perhaps most famously, James is the\u00a0NBA\u2019s all-time leader\u00a0in total points, scoring a total of 42,184 by the end of this past Lakers season. He also leads the NBA in\u00a0total playoff points\u00a0and the\u00a0most All-Star appearances with 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0have\u00a0made the decision\u00a0that\u00a0Luka Doncic\u00a0will lead the team going forward. While\u00a0LeBron James\u00a0enters the final year of his contract, the Lakers have shifted their focus to their… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nREPORT: Insider\u2019s Bold Prediction Is Bad News For LeBron James, Lakers - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=87352\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Insider\u2019s Bold Prediction Is Bad News For LeBron James, Lakers - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0have\u00a0made the decision\u00a0that\u00a0Luka Doncic\u00a0will lead the team going forward. 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