Kendrick Perkins admits LeBron James deserves a statue with the LA Lakers

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Now that LeBron James is on his way out of the Los Angeles Lakers, people are realizing how tremendous his legacy is with the team. In his eight seasons, LeBron was still one of the league's best players, and he led them to a championship in a difficult situation in the NBA Bubble in 2020.

Considering no team has dominated in the 2020s, getting at least one championship in the era of parity is impressive. LeBron is exiting as a Lakers legend, and some people, like Kendrick Perkins, believe that James deserves a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena.

Kendrick Perkins thinks LeBron James deserves a Lakers statue

James has had a tremendous career because he can argue that he has had a Hall of Fame-worthy stint on every team he has played for. Whether it was the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, or the Lakers, LeBron has a legacy that is worth praising.

It can even be argued that he deserves a statue outside every single team he has played for. That goes to show that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, basketball player of all time. He is not yet done because he plans on joining another team this offseason.

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With his Lakers exit, it is important to look back on what he did for the Lakers. He ended their decade-long drought without a championship, as LeBron had yet another phenomenal NBA Finals run in 2020, as he did throughout the 2010s.

Since he played eight years in Los Angeles, a lot of people thought he was synonymous with the franchise. Players like that have received tremendous honors, such as Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and many more. Perkins thinks LeBron should be part of that special group.

"I think he deserves a statue, to be honest with you, when you look at the records he broke in a Lakers uniform. Like getting the all-time scoring record, that moment he had with Kareem... This is the longest he has ever played for any franchise," Perkins said on ESPN about LeBron's legacy for the Lakers.

Now, the Lakers are moving in a different direction with Luka Doncic as their centerpiece. He is one of the league's best players, so it was natural for him to be the man to take over, but a lot of people will still remember the missed opportunities they had with superstars like Luka and LeBron on the same team.