As the Los Angeles Lakers move deeper into the 2025–26 season, LeBron James is navigating unfamiliar territory. More than two decades into his career, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is averaging just 16.5 points per game, the lowest mark of his career, while taking on a more complementary role alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
That shift has sparked debate about how future championships would be viewed if James isn’t a primary scoring option. Former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas addressed that exact question recently, and he didn’t mince words.
“You gotta really be a No. 1 or No. 2 option,” Arenas said. “That’s why I said when people chase it at the end, have they not noticed? No one actually gives you credit for it. There’s people who got championships that you didn’t even know they had ’em ’cause they got one just sitting on somebody bench at the end of they career.
“Listen, no, if he wins one right now averaging 20-something, he’s still the second option,” Arenas said. “But if he just, if he waits two more years and then he averaging 15, 16 and then he wins two more, ain’t nobody gonna give him credit for that. It’d just be himself.”
While the scoring numbers are down, James is still impacting games across the board. Through eight appearances this season, he’s averaging 7.6 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game, while often functioning as the Lakers’ offensive organizer rather than finisher.
That role has become easier thanks to Doncic and Reaves. Doncic is leading the league with 35.0 points per game, while Reaves has emerged as one of the NBA’s biggest breakout scorers at 27.8 points per game.
The results have followed. Despite James’ reduced scoring output, Los Angeles sits at 17 and 7, just one game back of the second seed in the Western Conference.
If the Lakers ultimately win the title, the outside noise may not matter to James.
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