Hours after glory, LeBron James gets trashed by his friend. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar ran up the lane against the Denver Nuggets defender to drop the magical layup to reach the 40,000 points mark. Following the historic event, he was all over the internet, in TV debates. While some discussed his accolades and greatness, some demanded a statue outside the Crypto.com arena. Notably, the late Kobe Bryant was honored recently with a bronze statue outside the arena.

It was Kendrick Perkins who demanded a similar honor for King James after the historic night. However, it didn’t seem to turn out well. In the latest episode Nightcap, Shannon Sharpe asked Gilbert Arenas if he believes the Lakers built a statue for James. Arenas simply said, “Hell Nah!” 

Gilbert Arenas didn’t just leave it at that, but also went on to drop a reason for his harsh take. He said, “He don’t [James] have enough accolades in the Lakers’ uniform. The title. You need years. He has only played 6 years.” LeBron James joined the Lakers fold ahead of the 2018-19 season and went on to lead the team for a championship in the 2020 NBA bubble.

Arenas further went on to draw a comparison between Shaquille O’Neal and James. Just like the Akron Hammer, Shaq has also played for multiple franchises in his career. However, the Lakers honored the big man with a statue for his eight-season-long service with the purple and gold team.

He argued that James should match up to at least Shaq’s accolades with the Lakers. Dr. Shaq in his 8-season stay with the Lakers, won three rings and dropped 13,895 points. Whereas James, on the other hand, has won only one ring with 9000 odd points.

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Despite the points and rings comparison, let’s take a look at James’ other record in Lakers uniform to help Kendrick Perkins make a case for the statue debate.

Does LeBron James deserve a statue outside Crypto.com arena?

It’s a valid argument that James didn’t play for a longer span in the Lakers’ uniform and didn’t generate enough points compared to the players who already have statues. At the same time, James has played a huge role in bringing back the forgotten glory of the legendary franchise.

Celtics and Lakers are the most successful teams in the history of leagues with the most number of trophies. But in the last 14 years, the Lakers have only one trophy and the Celtics have none. James fulfilled the trophy draught and leveled up with the Celts, winning the 17th ring.

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On the other hand, LeBron James became a scoring leader and broke the record for most All-Star appearances in the Lakers uniform. He has brought as much glory as his former Lakers players had brought in. With this argument, do you think the Lakers will honor the superstar with a statue? Let us know in the comments.