Stephen A. Smith Removes Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James in GOAT Conversation – Here’s Why

His impact on the court helped the Purple and Gold finish the regular season with 47 wins and 35 losses, which translated to an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference. This led the Lakers to grab a spot in the postseason by defeating Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-In Tournament.

After going through the Play-In, the James and the Lakers found themselves against the Denver Nuggets in the first round this year. Unfortunately, they were only able to salvage one win against the Nikola Jokic-led team and were eliminated within five games. As a result, Los Angeles fired Darvin Ham and the front office will try to convince James to take his player option with the team.

Stephen A. Smith Says Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James Can’t Be in the GOAT Conversation Anymore

After the Lakers were eliminated from contention, NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith came up with the conclusion that James can’t be considered a GOAT candidate from now on. In a video shared by First Take on X:

Over the course of his career, James has played for Paul Silas, Brendan Malone, Mike Brown, Erik Spoelstra, David Blatt, Tyronn Lue, Luke Walton, Frank Vogel, and Darvin Ham. When next season starts, the All-Star forward will play for his 10th coach. Also, of the nine individuals listed above, only Lue and Spoelstra wasn’t let go while James was actively playing.

Smith makes a compelling argument against James in light of Ham’s recent termination. With the four-time champion about to enter the final phase of his career, more focus will be placed on the person next to coach him wherever he may end up in the league.