LeBron James turned 41 years old more than four months ago. Monday night, with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, he became the oldest player to record a triple-double. Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers forward surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and became the all-time NBA wins leader at 1,229 games. 

John Thompson, Jr., the late, great Georgetown coach said comparing players across eras was foolish because “The moment you pick one is the moment you diminish the entire legacy of the other.”

Still, with eternal apologies to Coach Thompson, it’s becoming clear that LeBron will soon have no peer, not even Michael Jordan.

There, I said it. LeBron will be the G.O.A.T. when he retires, if he is not already.

No player in any major-revenue team sport has been this good for this long. 

 Before Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry and others entered the pantheon of the best non-centers to ever play the game, Jordan, Magic and Bird were hoop’s holy trinity.

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Magic and Bird each played 13 seasons, retiring at 36 and 35, respectively. Michael Jordan played 15 seasons. Because he went straight from high school to the pros, this is LeBron’s 23rd season. He has been non-committal about retirement, but even if he hangs it up after this season he will have played a full decade more than Magic and Bird and eight years more than Jordan. 

During a break in a game 2023, Jabari Smith, Jr., of the Houston Rockets told James,  “Hey, you played against my dad your first NBA game ever.” When LeBron said, “Really?” Smith responded, “You feel old don’t you?”

He must not be feeling that old. Last month, James viciously dunked on Smith during a fast break. 

Besides his longevity, LeBron will be remembered as a player who led three separate franchises – Miami, Cleveland and the Lakers – to a championship. But no one saw coming the  intangible that’s currently setting him apart: his  willingness to hand the baton to a better player on his own team. He has accepted that Luka Doncic is indeed the present and future of the Lakers.