Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves in for the dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Former Lakers Guard Reveals Major Reason LeBron James Isn't Unanimous GOAT

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Ryan Stano | Last updated May 27, 2025 5:03 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers had a really good team in 2020. The bubble came at the right time for them because they were able to give their veteran players some time to rest and get healthy.

That rest led to the Lakers winning the NBA championship in the bubble, giving LeBron James his fourth championship. Since that moment, the Lakers have been searching for another title.

James has tried his best to get another championship, but his team hasn't been able to get one yet. He's hoping to get a fifth in the next couple of years.

One former Lakers guard believes that the GOAT debate is not over because of the fact that the Lakers did not keep that 2020 team together.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope believes that the discussion would have been over had that team stayed together and won another title. He said so while talking on Above the Rim with DH12.

“That team, we had a lot of moments where everything just clicked for us. Off the court, on the court, inviting to each other’s houses, we were just hanging out with each other. Those were my brothers, I spent more time with my team than my family… I think if we kept that team together, we would’ve run off two more… There would be no more GOAT talk, that would’ve put [LeBron] at six.”

There were quite a few changes that came to the team after that title run that led to the Lakers not being as good. Rajon Rondo left for a bigger deal, and that was a big blow to the team.

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If James had five titles, that could be enough to put him solidly over Michael Jordan in the GOAT discussion. That's part of the reason why the Lakers decided to trade for Luka Doncic.

They believe that Doncic can help James and the rest of the Lakers win a title. Caldwell-Pope thinks that the team could have won at least two more titles, which is probably a stretch.

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This article first appeared on FanNation All Lakers and was syndicated with permission.

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