LeBron James is currently playing his 23rd season in the NBA. That alone is impressive because no player in NBA history has played more seasons than that. James has helped the Los Angeles Lakers compile a 50-27 record.
He has stepped up when the team has been without key players. At 41, he is still doing what he has always done, and now, he has earned a tribute from someone who has watched him up close.
Fred VanVleet Praises Lakers Forward LeBron James
Fred VanVleet, on a recent episode of his own podcast, stated that there will never be another face of the league quite like James. He was not just talking about the basketball side of things. His point was broader than that.
The King has built a resume that puts him right in the middle of the GOAT conversation. On top of that, he has managed to avoid serious controversy for over two decades. That combination, according to VanVleet, is unlikely to be seen again.
“We will never see another guy do it like LeBron did it for 25 years. Clean face, professional, work hard. He is the perfect model citizen of what you want the face of the league to be. I don’t think that’s going to happen again,” VanVleet said on his podcast.
VanVleet’s point is easy to understand when you look at LBJ’s journey.
James entered the league in 2003 as an 18-year-old with the Cleveland Cavaliers and almost immediately started changing things around him. In 2007, he took Cleveland to its first-ever NBA Finals appearance. He did it at just 22 years old.
When he moved to the Miami Heat in 2010, he helped build a team that won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. He then returned to Cleveland in 2014, and in 2016, he gave the city the championship it had been waiting for a very long time. After joining the Lakers in 2018, he led them to the 2020 title in the bubble.
Now in 2025-26, he is averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game. The King is once again carrying the Lakers at a time when they are short on key players like Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. The team has already clinched a playoff spot, and he has played a big part in helping them.
There have been other stars who dominated the league. But very few have combined skill, longevity, consistency, and professionalism the way James has.
