Never be replicated

The 2025-26 season of the National Basketball Association will be LeBron James’ 23rd in the pro scene. The number is, no doubt, significant for him any which way; after all, he has worn it on his jersey for much of his career, paying homage to childhood idol Michael Jordan while carving out a legacy so distinct, so immense, that it now stands beyond comparison. And in a league where superstars are chewed up and spit out with frightening regularity, he’s still impacting games, still commanding attention, still setting the standard for professionalism and performance.

- ANTHONY L. CUAYCONG

To be sure, hoops annals are littered with examples of all-time greats who have also aged gracefully. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki, for instance, found ways to contribute substantially in their twilight years. Still, James is different. At 40, he is not merely an outlier; he is a phenomenon without precedent. He has continued to play at an All-NBA level, capable of producing 30-point triple-doubles at any given time, not to mention dictating the flow of a game as a point-forward with the basketball IQ of a coach