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Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James is still the best player in the world

By Shreyas Kar

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 22, 2020 in New York City.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 22, 2020 in New York City.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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With stars like Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo emerging as MVP candidates, can we still say that LeBron James is still the best in the world?

Despite being at age 35, LeBron James still continues to be dominant as ever. This season, he’s been averaging 25.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 11.0 assists per game.

The only reason why people even ask if he’s still the best player in the world is because of the fact that father time is undefeated.

Last season, James suffered a major groin injury, which forced him to sit out 27 games. Despite the fact that he’s been playing a majority of the 2019-20 season, there are still reports of his groin having pain from time-to-time.

Even through the pain, James continues to dominate. However, he’s come down to earth in the sense that he now has those games in which it seems that he is no longer the best player in the world.

With James only putting more miles on his body, it should make sense for him to be not be the best, but somehow, that is not the case.

My question would be, who is the best in the world, if not James? Are we going to sit here and say that Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player currently?

Despite Antetokounmpo having another MVP-like season by averaging 30.0 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, he’s failed to add a consistent perimeter shot to his arsenal.

People will try to make it seem as though Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is better than James right now. as well. That’s just laughable.

Don’t get me wrong; Doncic is an amazing player. With Dallas being a legitimate playoff contender because of him, people are starting to say that he’s better than James. But let’s slow down. He’s only a second-year player, and he hasn’t even been to the playoffs yet.

People will also make the argument about Houston Rockets star James Harden being better than James. Don’t get me started on this absurd argument.

Harden is a fantastic player, however, he just doesn’t put effort on the defensive end. Offensively, he’s great, but the view of him is slanted.

Just because he can score 40 points doesn’t mean that he’s the best. He’s had multiple games in which he’s shot over 15 three’s in a game, and made 15 free throws to get to 40 points. That doesn’t scream, “Best player in the world,”

Finally, many will make the argument that Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is the best in the world. At this point, Leonard may seem to be the better player.

I mean, he’s a two-way superstar, so it does make sense for people to call him the best. My only thing against this case is that he doesn’t even play 65 games a year.

Taking load-management is horrible for the league, and since Leonard doesn’t even play as much as James does, I can’t sit here and say that Leonard is the best in the world. It just doesn’t make sense to.

Once Leonard plays at least 65-to-70 games per season, then we’ll revisit this comparison.

With all of this being said, the number one reason why I believe that people say that LeBron James is no longer the best in the world, is so that they can hate on him. Wake up people.

James has once again reestablished himself as the best in the world. However you want to slice it, James has been the best player on the best team in the Western Conference.

He’s an MVP candidate this year because of it.

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If people don’t realize that LeBron James James is the best player in the world right now, I’m sure he’ll give a huge reminder once playoff time rolls around.

If you hate him too much to see that, you’ll miss him when he’s gone.