Revisiting LeBron James' legendary NBA career as he enters Year 21

Los Angeles Lakers superstarLeBron James is entering Year 21 in the NBA, becoming just thesixth player in league history to play 21 seasons – joining VinceCarter, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Willis and RobertParish. Carter currently holds the record for most seasons playedwith 22.

With James still performing atan unprecedented level for someone his age, coupled with recentreports of his desire to still play several more years and hispublic goal of playing with his McDonald's All-American son, BronnyJames, he certainly seems like a lock to tie, if not break,Carter’s record.

James broke KareemAbdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record earlier this year inFebruary, adding a major accolade to his G.O.A.T. argument. Withthe seasons-played record in sight, let’s take a look at how “TheKing” has accumulated arguably the greatest legacy in NBA historyover the last two decades.

The Cleveland Cavaliers draftedthe kid from Akron with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBADraft. James was the talk of the country at the time, being dubbed"The Chosen One” and dawning the cover of Sports Illustrated atjust 18 years old. With the weight of the world on his shoulders,basketball fans waited in anticipation to see if James couldpossibly live up to the expectations.

The young phenom did not wasteany time. Debuting against the Sacramento Kings, James would go onto score 25 points while adding 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.The King would not slow down, averaging 20.9 points, 5.9 assistsand 5.5 rebounds in his first NBA season.

LeBron would spend the next sixseasons in Cleveland, winning back-to-back MVP awards in his lasttwo seasons with the team, while reaching the playoffs five timesand the NBA Finals once in 2007. With no championship after sevenseasons with the Cavs, the two-time MVP became a free agent in thesummer of 2010 and infamously decided to “take his talents to SouthBeach,” joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the“Big Three” on the Miami Heat.

The decision by James, whichhappened to be made on live television on an ESPN special dubbed“The Decision," sparked outrage amongst Cavaliers fans. Videosspread online of fans burning the once-hometown-hero’s jersey,rooting for his failure in Miami. While James was used to feelingpressure, this was different; James was receiving backlash from afanbase that once loved him, and a growing population of peoplewere actively rooting against him. This brewing tension had fanswaiting in anticipation, this time to see if LeBron could overcomethe weight of the world once again.

In LeBron’s quest to do theimpossible again, a trip to Cleveland brought The King back to thescene of his crime in a game against the Cavaliers in December of2010. The fans in then-named Quicken Loans Arena brought their allthat night, booing LeBron from the moment he was introduced andwhenever he touched the ball on offense. However, this just seemedto add more fuel to the fire for James, as he went on to score 38points en route to a 118-90 blowout of his formerteam.

This marked a new era for James,and he would embrace his role as the “villain” of the NBA. Fanperception was one thing, but with James’ new team came a newenergy. Now, he was a proven veteran and he was coming into his ownas a player, adapting this almost meticulous style and pace of play alongside his newAll-Star-caliber teammates in Wade and Bosh. James would go on towin back-to-back MVP awards again in 2012 and 2013, and the triowould prove to be a problem for the league, with the Heat evengoing on a 27-game win streak in 2013. During his time in Miami,James would evolve as a player, bulking up and playing more minutesdown low at power forward and even center.

The bonafide “super-team” wouldspend four seasons together, reaching the NBA Finals in all four.Winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, with LeBronwinning Finals MVP of both, the stars' decision to team-up was asuccess and ushered in a new era of player movement andempowerment.

The kid from Akron would thenshock the world in the summer of 2014, with James departing theHeat and returning home to rejoin the Cavaliers. The two-timechampion had some unfinished business and was determined to bring achampionship to his city.

LeBron brought his adapted andseasoned style to his former team. His impact extended into thefront office, as he now had significantly more say in rosterdecisions. He wasted little time and used his newfound influence toencourage the Cavs to trade their No. 1 overall pick in the 2014NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins, for a proven star: Kevin Love. Suddenly,James was part of another Big Three, this time with rising starKyrie Irving and Love.

In Year 1 of LeBron’s returnhome, he led the Cavs back to the NBA Finals, where they faced offagainst the Golden State Warriors, led by league MVP Stephen Curry.While LeBron led Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead over Golden State,Irving and Love both went down with injuries. This proved to be toomuch for LeBron to handle, and the Warriors would defeat theCavaliers in six games. James failed in his mission, but the waitwould prove to be worthwhile the following season.

The 2016 season would see arematch of the Cavaliers and Warriors in the NBA Finals. Curry wascoming off of his second-straight MVP award – becoming the firstunanimous MVP in history – and the Warriors achieved an NBA-record73 wins that season. The odds were stacked against LeBron and theCavs, and it only got worse when the Warriors took a 3-1 serieslead. Teams in the NBA Finals were 0-32 when facing a 3-1 seriesdeficit. Once again, LeBron was trying to do theimpossible.

Once again, The Kingresponded.

Dropping 41 points in both Game5 and Game 6, James led the way in tying the series at 3-3. In Game7, the Cavaliers would go on the road and defeat the Warriors,becoming the first team in NBA history to hoist the Larry O'Brientrophy after falling behind 3-1. This was a storybook ending, andJames became emotional during his postgame interview, shouting,“Cleveland! This is for you!”

"CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!"That line still sends chills down our spine as LeBron James and theCavs overcame a 3-1 deficit to claim their first ever NBAchampionship on this day in 2016 👑🏆pic.twitter.com/WzMtg5kj5Z

The three-time champion wouldspend two more seasons in Cleveland, reaching the NBA Finals bothseasons, where the Cavs would ultimately lose to theKevin-Durant-led Warriors. When James decided to leave Cleveland in2018, his second departure was well-received, with fans thankinghim for bringing a championship to their city. The next chapter ofJames' career would take place in Los Angeles with arguably themost storied franchise in the NBA, the Lakers.

James’ first year under thebright lights of Los Angeles was less than ideal, as injuriesplagued the roster and the Lakers' young core didn't seem ready tocompete at a high level. That would quickly be forgotten, as theLakers would trade three of those core players (Lonzo Ball, BrandonIngram and Josh Hart) and the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft tothe New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for superstar Anthony Davis,whom LeBron asked the organization to acquire.

That trade would kick off theLeBron-AD era in Los Angeles. The duo would win a championship intheir first year together in 2020, with James adding a fourthchampionship and Finals MVP to his resume. The team has had somemisfortune since, as they haven't been back to the Finals and theyeven missed the play-in tournament in 2022. While injuries havebothered LeBron in recent years, the four-time MVP has yet to slowdown, leading the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals lastseason. While the Lakers were ultimately swept by theeventual-champion Denver Nuggets, their postseason run wasimpressive.

Now, we arrive at the presentday. As James enters his 21st NBA season, he has 19 All-NBAselections, 19 All-Star selections, 10 NBA Finals appearances, fourchampionships, four Finals MVPs and four regular-season MVPs. Aftersurpassing expectation after expectation throughout his career,LeBron will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer when he walks away fromthe game. However, he's not done playing just yet, as he hopes toplay with his son and win at least one more championship before heretires.

LeBron’s current contract has aplayer option for next season, so this could potentially be hisfinal year with the Lakers (if he decides to opt out next summer).With LeBron still performing at a superstar level and facing pressure to lead his team toa title, all eyes will be on The King yet again thisseason.