NBA Top 10 Countdown: Nine - LeBron James not ready to give up yet

If all goes well this season, LeBron James should become the player with the most minutes played in NBA history, even though he is already the leading scorer in the regular season and last season became the first player in history to exceed 40,000 points. 

A list of the King's achievements would take all day, but this last point was clearly the highlight of his 2023/24.

Individually, 'The Chosen One' is still a machine. He has just completed his 21st season in the NBA, his 20th in a row averaging at least 25 points. These are heights that may never be equalled, and under the LA lights, the King is still delighting the crowd with big dunks and alley-oops.

But collectively, the Lakers have dropped down a tier, exiting pitifully in the first round last time out despite having reached the conference finals the previous season.

LeBron will be 40 in December and has just re-signed for two seasons (plus one), in possibly his last contract. But that wasn't the news of the summer, rather the fact that the Lakers drafted his son, Bronny James, with the 55th pick.

While we've never seen a second-round draft pick receive so much attention on his big-league debut, it at least helped to divert attention. There are still many doubts surrounding the end of the King's career, what it will be made of and, above all, whether it will be victorious.

A title seems illusory, even if his partnership with Anthony Davis remains one of the best in the NBA. But after a fabulous Olympic Games, it's hard to imagine LeBron not putting together a Top 10 MVP-calibre season and leading the Lakers to a successful play-off campaign.

The stats, the aura and the results are all routine, but it's important for legends of the game to look after the end of their careers, and he has the chance to make it a great one. And then some.

2023/24 stats: 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 54% shooting, 41% three-pointers

Target for 2024/25: 27 points / eight assists / eight rebounds / Conference finals / All-NBA Team