LeBron James Told Lakers They Reminded Him of 1 of Tom Brady’s 7 Super Bowl Winning Teams
Los Angeles Lakers small forward LeBron James and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady have a lot in common. Both superstars have defied father time by playing at a high level at ages most players slow down, and each future Hall of Famer has been the face of their sport for more than a decade and exceeded expectations.
Brady has won seven Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and Buccaneers, while LeBron has captured four NBA titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Lakers. Brady won his seventh Super Bowl in 2021 in his first season with the Buccaneers. It was fascinating to watch him win the Vince Lombardi Trophy since the Buccaneers were 7-5 before they caught fire.
After winning the final four games of the regular season, Tampa Bay went 4-0 in the postseason and defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV by a final score of 31-9.
LeBron is searching for his fifth championship this season, but the odds don’t look good for the King since the Lakers are only 21-20. However, before Los Angeles held an official practice this season, LeBron told his teammates they reminded him of Brady and the Buccaneers, and Los Angeles fans are certainly hoping the purple and gold finish on top like Tampa Bay did last year.
LeBron James told Lakers they reminded him of Tom Brady’s 2020 Buccaneers
Not many people thought Brady could lead the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl since he was old and playing with a new franchise, but he did. The Lakers, who traded for Russell Westbrook in the offseason and added a handful of veterans such as Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, and Trevor Ariza, haven’t played like title contenders this season, but Anthony says LeBron knew the season would be bumpy, just like Brady’s first year in Tampa Bay.
“Just from the standpoint of starting off slow and having new guys on the team. New system. Guys trying to figure it out, guys trying to figure out how to play with LeBron and now incorporating Russ and just now everybody figuring out what their role is,” Anthony said, via ESPN. “And what made it beautiful for the Bucs is that once it came together, it came together and you saw what happened with that.”
LeBron is putting up incredible numbers in Year 19. He’s averaging 28.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists while shooting 52.8% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc. However, if the playoffs started today, the Lakers would be in the play-in tournament. They look like how the Buccaneers did before Brady and Co. turned things around last year, which is why Anthony likes LeBron’s comparison.
Carmelo Anthony agrees with LeBron James on Tom Brady, Tampa Bay quote
Anthony agrees with LeBron that the Lakers are kind of like the 2020 Buccaneers. In a matter of weeks, Los Angeles could be fully healthy for the first time all season, with two and a half months left before the postseason to put a run together, just like Brady and Tampa Bay did last year.
“It’s a great comparison. It’s something that we look forward to. We listen to it, we hear it. It’s a great comparison,” Anthony said. “I don’t think it’s something that we think about on a daily basis. We just have some type of analogy to compare it to, and what better team and what better situation to compare it to than what the Bucs did last year?”
Anthony is averaging 13.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in his first season with LeBron and the Lakers. He’s been solid off the bench. Unfortunately, Westbrook hasn’t played well — he leads the NBA in turnovers — and Anthony Davis has been out since early December after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee.
LeBron is still arguably the best player in the league despite being 37 and having so many miles on his body. However, like Brady in his first season with the Buccaneers, LBJ will need his supporting cast to step up if the Lakers want to be the last team standing.
Russell Westbrook has to play better; Anthony Davis must dominate when he’s back
Brady’s wide receivers and the Buccaneers’ offensive line and defense got better as the 2020 season went along and peaked in the postseason, helping the Michigan product capture his seventh ring. For LeBron to win his fifth title, Westbrook has to get his act together, and Davis must be the dominating inside force he’s been in the past once he returns from his knee injury.
Westbrook is averaging 19.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. However, he’s shooting 29.8% from beyond the arc and 65.3% from the free-throw line. He also has a plus-minus of -33. No matter how special LeBron is, the Lakers aren’t finishing with a winning record if their starting point guard has a negative plus-minus rating, can’t shoot, and is a turnover machine.
Davis averaged 23.3 points and 9.9 rebounds before he got hurt, but he was shooting a woeful 17.9% from beyond the arc and occasionally getting bullied in the paint. The Chicago native needs to fix his shooting stroke and dominate in the post again.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the Lakers’ season goes. LeBron will likely continue to play like an MVP, but he needs his teammates to pick their games up as soon as possible.
