For many, LeBron James is the NBA’s GOAT. But is he the GOAT for the Los Angeles Lakers? Sure, he has won a championship with them. He played his eight seasons with them and also won the first NBA Cup with them. But does that make him worthy of getting a statue outside the Crypto.com Arena?
On the No Fouls Given and Playermakers, three-time NBA champ Danny Green, Wosny Lambre (Big Wos), and Paul Pierce shared their two cents on the matter. According to Wos, the Lakers won’t give LeBron a statue. “I don’t think Mark Walter owes him a statue,” Wos said. “Bro, he’s going to get a statue in every place he’s played,” Green argued. Big Wos believes that the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat will surely give LeBron James the respect, but not the LA Lakers.
Late in March, the Lakers won against the Cavaliers, marking LeBron’s 1229th win (combined regular-season and playoff). With that, he passed the Lakers’ legend, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, for the most victories in NBA history. LeBron James owns almost every record in the league. From scores, to minutes, to games, the King has his name written on each one of them. “Every team he’s played for, if you don’t give him a statue, you are f***ing bugging,” Danny Green firmly stated. “He broke all the records. I think you disrespect him if you don’t.”
Meanwhile, Paul Pierce sided with Green and said, “I think he’ll get a statue… He got a championship here. I think he’ll get one.” Now, if you talk about championships, then do they alone define greatness? Players like Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, and so many others never had a ring to their name. Yet, they defined different eras in the league, and they have their jersey hanging in the rafters.
However, these arguments aren’t convincing enough for Big Wos. He added, “I’m just saying, new ownership, Mark Walter is gonna be the one that commissions that statue. And you wonder if the people who are in charge of the Lakers going forward will give a sh** enough to do it.”
Now, Danny Green said that LeBron James is going to be around LA forever. Simply put, the ex-Laker feels that the 41-year-old won’t switch teams. He will finish his career as a Laker. “Yeah, he’s going to be. You want your alumni coming to the games.” Pierce added.
Green then went back to the statue case. “If he doesn’t get it now, he’ll get it eventually, is what I’m saying. You cannot have LeBron around LA and coming to the games and this man not be recognized. His jersey should be in the rafters. His face should be on the front. There should be a statue there,” the 38-year-old concluded.
On Dec. 11, 2025, Lakers fans on X.com delivered a brutal reality check. Just a day before Los Angeles crashed out of NBA Cup contention, 75.6% voters rejected the idea of a LeBron James statue. Despite arriving in 2018 and bringing home one championship, LeBron still feels more tied to the ‘Kid from Akron’ legacy than the purple-and-gold mythology.
What are the odds of LeBron James getting a statue outside Crypto.com Arena?
The debate exploded online because, for many fans, one ring simply does not place him beside Lakers royalty. The NBA fans filled social media with comments like, “hell nah. he’s been there 7yrs with only 1 successful szn in a bubble. stop it.” However, earlier in July 2025, Doug Gottlieb believed that LeBron James’ legacy as a Laker won’t go to waste.
The Fox Sports basketball analyst suggested that LeBron could leave Los Angeles in pursuit of another championship. “Doesn’t mean they won’t put a statue up front,” the analyst also mentioned. And this explanation is directly linked to Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal arrived in Los Angeles like a basketball supernova. Lakers Nation reporter Suki Thind once called his presence “Larger Than Life,” and the numbers backed it up. Alongside Kobe Bryant, Shaq powered the Lakers to their first and only three-peat, grabbed 3 Finals MVPs, and became a worldwide phenomenon. Meanwhile, rivals built entire defensive schemes around stopping him, much like teams once did with Michael Jordan. At his peak, Shaq felt less like a player and more like a natural disaster in sneakers.
However, the Kobe Bryant partnership also carried tension. Contract battles, declining production in 2003-04, and physical wear created friction with the Lakers‘ front office. Eventually, Shaq demanded a trade and landed in Miami in 2004. Still, Los Angeles honored the 15x NBA All-Star in style. The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey in 2013, then unveiled a 9-foot, 1,200-pound statue outside Crypto.com Arena in 2017.
Similarly, LeBron James transformed the Lakers the moment he arrived. Ticket prices reportedly exploded by 400%; opening-night seats averaged $934; and merchandise sales went wild. Moreover, the Lakers became the stage for LeBron’s biggest milestones, including the 2020 championship and the fall of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record. Across 8 seasons, he guided Los Angeles to the playoffs 6 times. So, even if his Lakers chapter ends elsewhere, his footprint across the franchise feels far too massive to ignore.
