LeBron James Lakers Debut Fuels Ultimate Legacy Expectations

Well, after a crazed day in which he was finally listed as available, LeBron James made his long-awaited season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first player in NBA history to play

23 seasons in the process.

However, while the celebrations are out of the way, James now joins a team that had already seen immense success from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves

. While all three rank as some of the best players the league has to offer,, this current Lakers roster is set up to win a championship, in the uncertain amount of time they have left with James.

According to Erik Beaston, winning the 2026 NBA Finals should not only be important for the franchise but more specifically for James, who, according to him, now has his basketball legacy

riding in the balance.

“Not only is it a team with the stature a star of James’ caliber deserves to wrap things up with, but there is a sense that he has unfinished business in the City of Angels,

” he wrote for Bleacher Report.

James is the league’s all-time leading scorer, has won four titles and four Finals-MVP, and just became the longest tenured player in history.

Yet still, another championship ring, according to Beaston, is the lone, most important thing left on his ‘GOAT‘ checklist.

LeBron Needs Another Lakers Title For His Legacy

As it relates to the

writer’s sentiment, it is the unknown future of James with the Lakers and the NBA as a whole. While rumors have circulated about him retiring, leaving for another team

, or pursuing a career in an entirely new league, him staying in Los Angeles has been the least discussed option out of the bunch.

James picked up his player option

with Los Angeles for this year. He previously had the chance to sign a new deal with the team, one which would have been welcomed by the front office, but that

wasn’t the case. Beatson also wants the superstar to finish his career with the Lakers, but if that doesn’t happen, the pressure to win a championship this season grows even greater.

“While there will likely be teams vying to persuade James to finish his career with their organizations, there is only one team the biggest star of his generation should finish his career with: his current team, the Lakers,

” he wrote. “James won the NBA title with the Lakers in 2020…[but] there have been criticisms of the accomplishment from those who diminish its legitimacy.”

Included in the

writers’ argument on the importance of this season with the Lakers on James’ legacy was a recent article by The Athletic. It was one in which the current

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey called out the validity of the team’s 2020 NBA title, which they won in the NBA Bubble during the COVID pandemic.

Three-time NBA champion with the

Chicago Bulls, Ron Harper, shared a similar sentiment. But regardless of one’s individual thoughts on the 2020 title, it is clear that many question its credibility, pointing to another reason why winning a championship this year would quiet his critics.

Title Expectations Growing In Los Angeles

The return of James to the Lakers after a months-long recovery from sciatica was the top story across the NBA, and has been for much of the season. But now that he is back,

it raises the question, like Beaston posed, of whether this team has a real chance at competing for a championship this season.

Just looking at the star power, that is clearly a possibility.

While in a recent list published by ESPN, the Lakers trio of James, Doncic, and Reaves was ranked in the sixth tier of ‘old stars with big question

s,’ the talent of each is hard to ignore. James has led teams with a weaker supporting cast to the Finals, and the same could potentially be said for

Doncic with Dallas in 2024.

Yet still, the Western Conference is a bigger beast than ever before, and competing against teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets is a lot easier said than done. Through their first 15 games of the season, the Lakers rank near the middle of the league in

net, offensive, and defensive rating, a historically poor sign for any team hoping to win four straight playoff rounds.

He’s hardly done it in the past, but taking a step back at age 40 to allow Doncic

and Reaves to star might be the one way James can close out his legacy with the Lakers, and his career as a whole.

“There will always be plenty of criticism directed at James as the most famous player in the league, especially with the presence of Luka Dončić in the lineup, but he owes it to himself to silence as much of it as possible and win his fifth title with the Lakers,

” Beaston added.

Dak Prescott lands on Dallas Cowboys injury report days before Eagles matchup

The Dallas Cowboys’ Week 12 is off to the races as the team is set to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. But it’s not exactly off to an ideal start. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced Wednesday afternoon that quarterback Dak Prescott will be on the initial injury report with a hip injury.

“Dak’s got a little hip [injury], he got banged around a little bit in the game,” Schottenheimer told reporters. “Minor things. You’ll see some guys [on the injury report], but nothing major.”

Despite Schottenheimer’s comments about it not being serious, it’s never fun to see the starting quarterback on the injury report. However, it doesn’t sound like Prescott will miss the game. Prescott is set to have a normal workload in practice, the head coach added.

Cowboys’ plan to approach practice cautiously

It should be noted that the Cowboys plan to be careful with practice moving forward as they’re set to play plenty of games over a short span.

Playing on Monday gives Dallas a shorter week, which will be followed by a game Sunday against the Eagles and another four days later against the Kansas City Chiefs. Later in the season, the Cowboys will have another short week in Week 17.

Prescott’s injury occurred during a dominant performance in which he completed 76% of his pass attempts and threw four touchdowns, each to a different receiver.

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