Analyst explains why LeBron James shouldn’t expect Lakers statue

LeBron James is getting closer to the end of his playing days, and people are starting to talk about how the league should remember him when it is all over. Statues seem like a lock. But even that might not really do justice to what he has meant to the game.

Like Michael Jordan before him, LeBron took the NBA's global presence to a different level. Teams spent years trying to build superteams just to compete, but wherever he landed basically became one by default. His name on the roster made you the team to beat.

He is the league's all-time leading scorer, and that's not going anywhere. But a lot of people see that record as something that just happened along the way, not the main thing he was after.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will put up a statue for him without question. The Miami Heat have a real case after the championship years. The Los Angeles Lakers' situation is trickier, and opinions are all over the place on whether Los Angeles should give him one too.

Colin Cowherd says LeBron doesn’t deserve Lakers statue

Robert Horry recently said LeBron deserves statues in every city he played in, including Los Angeles. Colin Cowherd was not having it. He went off during a segment on Fox Sports' "The Herd" and made it clear he thinks Horry's idea behind LeBron’s Lakers status doesn’t feel right.

According to Cowherd, LeBron's time with the Lakers just does not measure up to the standard set by the franchise's legends.

"The Lakers aren't every other organization," Cowherd said. "There is simply a different standard for Notre Dame football, Yankee baseball, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and the Lakers … Miami, sure. Cleveland, absolutely. I think if you ask Lakers fans, statue and LeBron outside Crypto? It would be absolutely not...

"LeBron feels more like a consultant. He adds value, new set of eyes, polishes up the problems. And then when he leaves, and the contract's done, you're like, 'Alright, see ya.' Nobody sheds tears, nobody cries. This is not family. That's the downside of mobility. LeBron isn't Laker family."