The Los Angeles Lakers have made it a habit to honor their all-time greats with statues outside of Crypto.com Arena. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and legendary play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn all have statues depicting their likeness at Star Plaza.
Some are now wondering if LeBron James will get his own statue. He’s in his sixth season with the Purple and Gold and has delivered them an NBA championship, and there could very well be more seasons and rings coming for him with the team.
But former NBA star Gilbert Arenas told Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe that a statue for James is premature (h/t Lakers Daily).
no statue for Bron in LA?? @ShannonSharpe @GilsArenaShow pic.twitter.com/flVF55g5k8
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) March 4, 2024
“If his career stop right now, hell nah,” said Arenas. “He don’t have enough accolades in the Laker uniform.”
“The closest statue we have with that was with Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal),” Arenas continued. “Shaq, eight years, was it four rings? No, three rings. It’s gon’ be hard to put him in there with six years, 8,000 points, one championship, six All-Stars. That’s not good enough for a statue in Los Angeles. They could just put his shoes. They can start with the shoes.”
In addition to the example of O’Neal, there is Wilt Chamberlain, who played five seasons in L.A. and made four trips to the NBA Finals but won just one ring. He is one Lakers great who doesn’t have a statue.
But if James remains with the team past this season, continues to play at a high level and wins another world championship with it, perhaps a statue for him wouldn’t be out of the question at that point.