James is about to start his 23rd season

In the history of the NBA, no player has played for 23 seasons, but this record is about to be broken by James because it is a foregone conclusion that he starts the next season.

NBA players have played for 20 years, and even fewer people are still in the main position in the 20th season. Now it seems that only Jabbar, Kobe and Paul, the first two have chosen to retire after playing in the 20th season. Paul will start his 21st season, but next season, he will definitely be a substitute player in the Clippers and a side-by-side player.

Compared with the first three, James is much stronger. Last season, the 40-year-old James still averaged 25.4+8.3+8 per game, and entered the All-A-Second Team. It is estimated that as long as James is willing to go to the 20+5+5 data, it will definitely not be a big problem.

Of course, James has many black fans and is also a very controversial star. The source of these controversies is partly the obsession of fans in competitive sports about the purity of idols. In traditional concepts, the lone hero who leads a team to win the championship alone is more in line with the heroic image in the public's mind. James' repeated changes to the team and actively seeks to join forces with other stars has broken this inherent cognition. In 2010, he left the Cavaliers and switched to the Heat, forming the three giants with Wade and Bosh. At that time, many people accused him of "taking shortcuts". This behavior made it difficult for fans who uphold traditional basketball values, and the label of "grouping" has been put on him since then. Even though he led the Heat to win the championship twice, the controversy has not faded.

From the perspective of data and honor, black fans often criticize his winning rate in the finals. James made it to the finals 10 times but lost 6 times. Compared with Jordan's brilliant record of entering the finals 6 times and winning the championship 6 times, this has become a powerful "weapon" for black fans' attacks. Especially in the 2011 Finals, facing the Mavericks, he performed abnormally, averaged only 17.8 points per game, and even had a sluggish performance of 8 points in a single game. He was repeatedly mentioned by black fans to question his ability at critical moments, and the saying "passes the blame for the key ball" is also rampant.

However, James fans also have plenty of reasons to defend their idol. Judging from his career trajectory, leaving the Cavaliers was a helpless move without seeing hope for winning the championship. His success at the Heat was the result of his hard work. Returning to the Cavaliers and bringing the first championship in team history to his hometown is a legendary story that fulfilled his promise to his hometown. His comprehensiveness and lasting peak state are extremely rare in NBA history. He hit key balls and sent key assists many times at critical moments of the game, and responded to the question of "passing the blame for the key balls" with practical actions.

As James is about to start his 23rd season, his NBA legend is still being written. No matter the doubts of black fans or the support of fans, it cannot stop him from leaving his own deep mark in the long history of basketball. In the future, he may encounter more controversy, but every appearance of his game is undoubtedly an interpretation of the spirit of basketball, showing people how a basketball superstar can move forward in controversy and glory.

But no matter what, James left a strong mark on the long river of NBA history!