LeBron James might be a one-of-a-kind basketball talent, but pieces of the living legend’s game can be seen all over the NBA in 2019-20.
For the majority of his 17-year NBA career, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been compared to Michael Jordan.
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The greatest player of the 2010s doesn’t necessarily have a style similar to the greatest player of the 1990s — LeBron has always been closer to Magic Johnson than Jordan on the court — but because he has been the face of the league for so long, the Jordan comparisons are inevitable.
One way in which LeBron has been Jordan-like is that every couple of years, the public is introduced to a new hoops phenom who is hyped as The Next LeBron.
During his heyday, Jordan inspired a generation of Next Jordan candidates. Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant are two of the names you know; Harold Miner and Felipe Lopez are two you may have forgotten.
Whether they ultimately lived up to the label or not, they initially earned it because they either looked like Jordan, played like him, flew like him or in some other way showed potential to impact the sport like him.
Two decades after Jordan’s prime, LeBron has inspired a crop of Next LeBron prospects.
That list includes three recent No. 1 NBA Draft picks: Zion Williamson, Ben Simmons and Andrew Wiggins.
It also includes 15-year-old Sports Illustrated cover subject Emoni Bates. And of course there is the literal next LeBron James: 15-year-old LeBron James Jr., a.k.a. “Bronny,” a.k.a. LeBron’s oldest son, who is already one of the most popular prep players in the country.
We had a lot guys that we're supposed to be "The next Jordan."
— Jorge Sedano (@Sedano) May 26, 2017
You guys are mad at LeBron b/c he's actually made it a real conversation.
On Nov. 1, LeBron Sr. put on a nationally-televised show against a rising international sensation who grew up idolizing LeBron and is posting LeBron-like numbers as he establishes himself in the league.
Dallas Mavericks wing Luka Doncic went for 31 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists against LeBron and the Lakers on Friday. LeBron had 39 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists in L.A.’s overtime victory.
The two made history by becoming the youngest (Doncic is 20) and oldest (LeBron is 34) players in league history to record 30-10-15 stat lines in one game. And they did it in the same game.
Doncic is one of a handful of current players whose game features shades — some obvious, some subtle — of LeBron. He is part of a group that will keep LeBron’s legacy alive even after the best of this era walks away from the game.