Los Angeles Lakers: 3 goals for LeBron James in 2018-19

2. Claim his 5th MVP award

Most Valuable Players awards are mostly built on narratives rather than given to the “most valuable” player each season. If this were the case, there’s an argument to be had that LeBron James would win it every season. But in a new conference in Los Angeles, the narrative and value of LeBron seem to be coinciding for the first time in a couple years.

King James enters this season as the odds-on favorite to claim his fifth MVP award, and I wouldn’t put my money anywhere else. Throughout his whole career, a slight blemish on his list of accomplishments has been his reluctance to stay in the Eastern Conference and not go through the gauntlet of the Western Conference.

If he can dominate the Western Conference in his 16th season, that alone will vault him to the top of the MVP list. Toss in the Lakers potentially finishing in the top half of the conference with LeBron averaging around 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game, the trophy is pretty much a lock to head to LeBron’s trophy cabinet barring a massive season from a star elsewhere.

LeBron has always been a team-first guy, so this won’t publicly be outspoken about the man himself. But claiming his fith MVP, matching Michael Jordan and Bill Russell for second all-time, is an achievement that would be special for him and everybody around him.