But James has blocked out all the noise and just played basketball this season. The rookie has been playing much better in the G League after a slow start to the year.
While the production hasn’t translated over to the NBA just yet, the Lakers are still excited for how James has developed this season. But with this, many believe that he still won’t ever do well in the NBA.
However, former Lakers forward Metta Sandiford-Artest isn’t one of those people. The former NBA champion took to social media and offered a very bold claim about what he believes James can become down the line.
Sandiford-Artest said that James would be an All-Star at some point.
This is a very wild claim to have when James hasn’t done much in the NBA so far. Even his G League numbers, while nice, don’t fully reflect All-Star potential in the league.
James has averaged 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in the G League this season. But his NBA numbers, while limited in playing time, are far worse.
The rookie has has averaged 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game in the NBA this season. James normally doesn’t see the floor when he has been with the team unless the game is out of hand.
Los Angeles has been shuffling him back and forth between the G League and the NBA as they continue his overall development. James has shown strong progress this season and if he can continue to grow his game, the Lakers may have him on the floor more often.
It remains to be seen how his career will turn out but if he were to become an All-Star, the Lakers would have gotten a steal in the second round.