There are a few commonalities between LeBron James and Gary Payton. Besides being two of the best players to ever play in the NBA, they are both NBA champions who played for the Miami Heat (and won titles there) as well as the Los Angeles Lakers.
James’ Lakers took a 2-0 lead over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, and Payton believes they can make a deep postseason run despite their key injuries.
Gary Payton Praises LeBron James’ Lakers
In an interview with R.org’s DJ Siddiqi, Payton expressed his optimism about the Lakers, singling out James in the process.
“I think they can make a lot of noise,” said Payton of the Lakers. “I don’t know if they can deal with Oklahoma and San Antonio, I think it’ll be a great series against San Antonio. I think Oklahoma would be a little bit different for them.
“But I really do think that they can go to the Western Conference Finals and upset one of them teams if they really had all three of them guys (Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves), especially at a high rate, because they have three guys who can score 20 or more points and get very effective and especially with LeBron, who can get rebounds, who can get assists like [Nikola] Jokic in Denver, that’s why he makes his teams so well, because he’s got a triple double.
“He just had a triple-double and they had no problem with Minnesota the other night,” Payton continued. “I’m saying LeBron is doing the same thing. I think if they had all three of them, they’d be a real threat and to go really deep in the playoffs. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. I don’t know if LeBron will wear down and people will wear him down, but the other young kids gotta step up. But they started off well, they beat them in Houston. Let’s see what happens in the first round.”
LEBRON DOING REVERSE WINDMILLS IN YEAR 23 🤯👑 pic.twitter.com/CEZi9WYko5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 22, 2026
So much has worked against the Lakers in recent weeks, and yet, they are up 2-0 on the Rockets. Granted, Houston was also undermanned in Game 1, but this is still an impressive performance from the Lakers.
“People didn’t understand at the end of the year when they were fighting for that four or five spot to see who can get home court advantage, the Lakers beat them,” Payton said. “hey beat them with Durant and everything. LeBron took over and had a triple double. Their team is built like that, even without Luka and without Reaves.
“What happens is that all the players play around LeBron, and they all play together like his teams in Cleveland. Everybody is now circulating it, and there’s not a ball stoppage where one person looks at one person, and let’s look at him just play. I think it goes around and everybody gets an opportunity to play the game, and that’s why they’re so effective right now. I think that’s why they’re effective.”
At the forefront of their success has been James, who has turned back the clock at 41 years old. At this point, no one takes James’ abilities for granted. But this level of play is highly impressive considering he’s down two star running mates.
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James is averaging 23.5 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds while shooting 48.6% from the field and nearly 43% from three. Many believed the Lakers were done when they entered the playoffs without Dončić and Reaves, and yet they are two wins away from the Western Conference Semifinals.
There’s not much else James has left to prove, and yet here he is still impressing the masses.
