Former Clippers Guard Offers Bold Opinion on LeBron James

Evan MasseyAugust 13, 2025August 13, 2025no comment

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Los Angeles Clippers

Nick White/DallasHoopsJournal.com

Heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is still one of the best players in the NBA. However, there are a lot of questions regarding his future with the franchise.

With just one year remaining on his current contract, James could hit free agency next offseason.

That being said, there are quite a few teams who have already emerged as potential destinations. Among those teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and Golden State Warriors.

Regardless of what happens, James is expected to play out the final year of his contract with the Lakers. He’ll look to make what could be his final run at bringing another championship to Los Angeles, this time in a full season alongside of Luka Dončić.

Ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 season, former Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers spoke out with a bold opinion about James. Rivers took some time to comment about James’ offensive skill-set.

“LeBron is number one [in scoring], but his game doesn’t match a prototypical scorer,” Rivers said. “It’s also not sexy. LeBron’s game is built on force, sheer will, dedication, his mind, his IQ, the way he is able to dissect and control a game, and power, above anything else. He wills himself to the basket.”

He continued on, giving James a lot of credit for one change he has made to his scoring ability.

“Now, you have to give the guy credit,” Rivers said. “As he’s gotten older, he’s become a better jumpshooter. It’s crazy that he’s going to retire the best jumpshooter he’s ever been.”

Last season with the Lakers, James averaged 24.4 points per game to go along with 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, and a steal. He shot 51.3 percent from the floor and 37.6 percent from three-point range.

Showing further proof of James’ improved shooting, he connected on 41.6 percent of his three-point attempts during the 2023-24 season.

Expect to continue hearing a lot of rumors and speculation about James’ future throughout the year. He’s likely to finish the 2025-26 season with Los Angeles, but he might just be playing elsewhere in the 2026-27 campaign.