The Los Angeles Lakers and superstar LeBron James agreed to a two-year , $85 million contract extension. The deal was confirmed by James’ agency Klutch Sports Group on Wednesday.

James, who previously had one year, $39.2 million left on his deal, will now remain with the franchise at least through 2022/23 NBA season.

James helped the Lakers to an NBA title last season, capturing his fourth ring in the process. He led the league in assists with 10.2 average during the regular season, while adding 25.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.

During the postseason, the 35-year-old James took it up a notch, scoring 27.6 points per game. His playoffs excellence resulted in the NBA Finals MVP award, which made him the only player in the history of the league to get this achievement with three different franchises. He previously won the award with the Miami Heat twice and once with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

By agreeing to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for three more years, LeBron James has put himself in a position to add to his NBA Title count and get closer to Michael Jordan in the “greatest of all time” conversation. Lakers are favorites to repeat in 2020/21, having reportedly locked All-Star Anthony Davis to a long-term deal while adding several intriguing pieces to their roster, including Dennis Schroeder, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell.

If he maintains the level of play from previous seasons, James will also have a chance to get on top of most of the NBA’s all-time lists.

He already ranks No. 1 in scoring and steals in the playoffs while also having a realistic chance to catch Magic Johnson in the assists category.

In the regular-season rankings, James is currently third in scoring with 34,241 points, trailing Karl Malone (36,928) and the Lakers’ legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387). He would need to average at least 25.0 points per game in the next three years to emerge on top.

James can also get in the top five on the all-time assists leaders list and in the top 10 in the all-time steals leaders list before he wraps up his playing career.

The post Lakers Sign Superstar LeBron James to a 2-Year, $85 Million Extension appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

Hall of Famer and Houston Rockets’ legend Hakeem Olajuwon recently decided to weigh in on the ongoing debate about the greatest basketball player of all time. According to Olajuwon, there is no doubt that Michael Jordan should be considered the GOAT as “he was far more superior player” compared to the rest.

While being almost universally recognized as the greatest of all time in the past, Jordan has now received serious competition from Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar LeBron James. The debate especially intensified in recent weeks following James’ memorable NBA title win with the Lakers earlier this month. 

But for Olajuwon, who played in the same era as Jordan, James’ latest ring didn’t do much to get him closer to the Chicago Bulls’ legend.

“When people start comparing him with Jordan, then that’s not a fair comparison. Jordan was a far more superior player in a very tough league, and he was very creative,” Olajuwon told CNBC when asked about his take on the debate. “That’s not taking away anything from LeBron because he is a great player, but it is not a fair comparison because Jordan is a far superior player.”

Hakeem Olajuwon backing Michael Jordan isn’t surprising as the older players tend to believe that today’s basketball softer than the one that was played in the ’80s and ’90s. Also, most of them competed against Jordan and saying that you played against the best has a certain weight to it.

But there is no doubt that James is slowly winning over doubters with an impressive level of excellence through a prolonged period of time. The fact that he’s still considered the best in the game at the age of 35 is especially telling.

The fact is, however, that we’ll hardly get a consensus GOAT anytime soon. So, why not enjoy the debate and have some fun with it.

The post Hakeem Olajuwon Backs Michael Jordan as the GOAT: “He Was Far More Superior Player” appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

The NBA announced the three All-NBA teams this past Wednesday which recognizes the most valuable and best players across different teams and positions in the league.

The First Team is made up of Los Angeles Lakers’ players LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Milwaukee Bucks’ and the reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Houston Rockets’ forward James Harden.

This marks the 16th time that James has been named to the All-NBA team, setting a record as the player with the most selections in the history of the league. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 15 All-NBA nominations. James has also been named to the First Team 13 times.

Rockets’ Harden has been named to the First Team five straight times and Mavericks’ Doncic makes history as the first player to be named to the All-NBA in one of his first two seasons since Tim Duncan did in 1999.

Clippers’ star Kawhi Leonard, Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic, Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Thunder guard Chris Paul, and Raptors’ Pascal Siakam make up the Second Team.

The third team consists of Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, Utah center Rudy Gobert, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, and Houston’s Russell Westbrook.

The post The All-NBA 2019-2020 Teams Have Been Announced! appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

The Los Angeles Lakers and superstar LeBron James agreed to a two-year , $85 million contract extension. The deal was confirmed by James’ agency Klutch Sports Group on Wednesday.

James, who previously had one year, $39.2 million left on his deal, will now remain with the franchise at least through 2022/23 NBA season.

James helped the Lakers to an NBA title last season, capturing his fourth ring in the process. He led the league in assists with 10.2 average during the regular season, while adding 25.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.

During the postseason, the 35-year-old James took it up a notch, scoring 27.6 points per game. His playoffs excellence resulted in the NBA Finals MVP award, which made him the only player in the history of the league to get this achievement with three different franchises. He previously won the award with the Miami Heat twice and once with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

By agreeing to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for three more years, LeBron James has put himself in a position to add to his NBA Title count and get closer to Michael Jordan in the “greatest of all time” conversation. Lakers are favorites to repeat in 2020/21, having reportedly locked All-Star Anthony Davis to a long-term deal while adding several intriguing pieces to their roster, including Dennis Schroeder, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell.

If he maintains the level of play from previous seasons, James will also have a chance to get on top of most of the NBA’s all-time lists.

He already ranks No. 1 in scoring and steals in the playoffs while also having a realistic chance to catch Magic Johnson in the assists category.

In the regular-season rankings, James is currently third in scoring with 34,241 points, trailing Karl Malone (36,928) and the Lakers’ legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387). He would need to average at least 25.0 points per game in the next three years to emerge on top.

James can also get in the top five on the all-time assists leaders list and in the top 10 in the all-time steals leaders list before he wraps up his playing career.

The post Lakers Sign Superstar LeBron James to a 2-Year, $85 Million Extension appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

Hall of Famer and Houston Rockets’ legend Hakeem Olajuwon recently decided to weigh in on the ongoing debate about the greatest basketball player of all time. According to Olajuwon, there is no doubt that Michael Jordan should be considered the GOAT as “he was far more superior player” compared to the rest.

While being almost universally recognized as the greatest of all time in the past, Jordan has now received serious competition from Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar LeBron James. The debate especially intensified in recent weeks following James’ memorable NBA title win with the Lakers earlier this month. 

But for Olajuwon, who played in the same era as Jordan, James’ latest ring didn’t do much to get him closer to the Chicago Bulls’ legend.

“When people start comparing him with Jordan, then that’s not a fair comparison. Jordan was a far more superior player in a very tough league, and he was very creative,” Olajuwon told CNBC when asked about his take on the debate. “That’s not taking away anything from LeBron because he is a great player, but it is not a fair comparison because Jordan is a far superior player.”

Hakeem Olajuwon backing Michael Jordan isn’t surprising as the older players tend to believe that today’s basketball softer than the one that was played in the ’80s and ’90s. Also, most of them competed against Jordan and saying that you played against the best has a certain weight to it.

But there is no doubt that James is slowly winning over doubters with an impressive level of excellence through a prolonged period of time. The fact that he’s still considered the best in the game at the age of 35 is especially telling.

The fact is, however, that we’ll hardly get a consensus GOAT anytime soon. So, why not enjoy the debate and have some fun with it.

The post Hakeem Olajuwon Backs Michael Jordan as the GOAT: “He Was Far More Superior Player” appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

The NBA announced the three All-NBA teams this past Wednesday which recognizes the most valuable and best players across different teams and positions in the league.

The First Team is made up of Los Angeles Lakers’ players LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Milwaukee Bucks’ and the reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Houston Rockets’ forward James Harden.

This marks the 16th time that James has been named to the All-NBA team, setting a record as the player with the most selections in the history of the league. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 15 All-NBA nominations. James has also been named to the First Team 13 times.

Rockets’ Harden has been named to the First Team five straight times and Mavericks’ Doncic makes history as the first player to be named to the All-NBA in one of his first two seasons since Tim Duncan did in 1999.

Clippers’ star Kawhi Leonard, Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic, Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Thunder guard Chris Paul, and Raptors’ Pascal Siakam make up the Second Team.

The third team consists of Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, Utah center Rudy Gobert, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, and Houston’s Russell Westbrook.

The post The All-NBA 2019-2020 Teams Have Been Announced! appeared first on toppoptoday.com.