Los Angeles Lakers: Is 2019-20 LeBron’s last legit shot at a championship?

As the 2019-20 season quickly approaches for the Los Angeles Lakers, we explore whether 2019-20 will be LeBron James’ last legit shot at winning an NBA Championship

When Kawhi Leonard‘s free agency decision to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers was announced, three things quickly came to my head.

The first was premised around the fact of how the Los Angeles Lakers played with fire and got burned. The second was that the era of the super team might be over. Finally, the third – which just so happens to be the central idea of this article – was how the 2019-20 season could be LeBron James‘ last legit shot at winning another NBA Championship.

Before you label me as a knee-jerk reactor, here me out. This has nothing to do with the version of LeBron that we saw last season or “Father Time.” While it still remains undefeated, you can’t deny the fact that LeBron has been on the right side of Father Time over the last five years and has only come away with one championship.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

• Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
• NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
• Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
• Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
• NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24

Thinking that this upcoming season is LeBron’s best chance at winning another NBA Championship has more to do with the current circumstances in the league than anything in LeBron’s game. With that said, I don’t think you can argue with the fact that LeBron is aging. And that we probably have seen the best version of LeBron that we’ll ever see. I don’t think that’s a hot take. It’s a simple fact. LeBron will be 35 years old when the playoffs start and has logged some serious miles over the last decade of his career.

With that said, adding Anthony Davis has certainly vaulted the Lakers into real title contention this season. The Lakers will be one of the few real contenders in the Western Conference. Partly thanks to the addition of Davis, but also because of what transpired this summer.

The Golden State Warriors will not be their true self this season, considering that they lost Kevin Durant (to free agency), Klay Thompson (who could return at midseason, to injury) and Andre Iguodala (cap casualty).

The Houston Rockets traded Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook, which, by some, could be viewed as somewhat of a step back. If nothing else, it will take them some time to get on the same page, which could lead to a rough start to the year.

The Denver Nuggets might be the best team in the West this season, but even they have their limitations as a real contender. The same could be said about the Portland Trail Blazers, who have a little beyond their dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

The Clippers are the new contender on the block but will be without Paul George to start to the season and they will need some time to gel as a duo. The Clippers will certainly be in the mix, however.

Just in the West alone, you can make the argument that the Lakers could be the favorites (depending on how they look to start the season). As far as the East, well, they only have to beat the team that makes it out of that chaos – which you’d expect to be the Milwaukee Bucks or Philadelphia 76ers. With Kevin Durant out this season, the Brooklyn Nets will be nothing more than a playoff contender.

The stage is set for one more LeBron “moment” heading into 2019-20. Everything that has transpired over the last few months suggests that LeBron will, once again, be a real threat to win the NBA Championship. Which makes the recent injury to DeMarcus Cousins that much more unfortunate.

If LeBron James is going to win one more NBA Championship, the 2019-20 season is the perfect – and possibly best – opportunity for it to happen.