It is a testament to the greatness of LeBron James that at age 40, when paired up with another generational talent, there are still question marks about who the best player on the team is.
James has played elite basketball in his 22nd season in the league. The four-time NBA champion has averaged 24.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 8.6 assists, with a healthy true shooting percentage of 61.2 during his 35.0 minutes per game this season. The 2024-25 campaign has been so great for James that he has quietly snuck into the top five of the KIA NBA MVP rankings.
However, there is another set of rankings, recently released, that aimed to tackle the hierarchy of the NBA’s elite. Fansided posted their NBA 99 list a few days ago. The project entails exactly what it sounds to, ranking the 99 best players in the league today. There was a definitive statement made within those rankings as to who the best player on the Lakers is.
Doncic comfortably outranks James in NBA 99
Fansided had Luka Doncic claiming a spot within the top five of their player rankings list. The Slovenian superstar claimed the fourth spot, only trailing the superstars talents of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (in that exact order).
James was a little further down the list. Despite his excellent play, the staff who put together this list do not consider the four-time Finals MVP a top 10 player in the world anymore. James occupied the 13th spot in the rankings.
There can be some healthy debate surrounding whether James is too low at 13. Players like Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant are all above him on the list. There is a case to be made for James still being a better player than a fair bunch of those names.
Despite that, the assessment on who claims the title of best player in Los Angeles, between LeBron and Luka, is more than fair.
James has looked spectacular since Doncic’s debut. The 21-time All-Star has averaged 27.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in the eight games since his new superstar teammate put on Lakers’ threads for the first time.
Doncic, who missed one game due to injury management during that same span, has averaged 21.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in seven appearances for the Lakers. The five-time All-NBA member has struggled with his efficiency, posting 37.3 percent from the field and 24.1 percent from beyond the arc.
While those numbers for both men indicate a clear advantage to James, the context is key here. Doncic is acclimating to a new team in the middle of the season, with JJ Redick trying to incorporate him into the offense. The former Dallas Mavericks superstar has also been working his way back from an injury that forced him to miss a significant chunk of the season.
The player who Doncic has proven to be over recent seasons more than deserves the benefit of the doubt. Once the Lakers offense properly settles into maximizing the role of their tall point guard, the numbers will reaffirm what everyone already knows: Doncic is the man in Los Angeles.