LeBron James tops Stephen A. Smith's major 'pressure' list even as a 40-year-old

For the last 22 years, LeBron James has remained one of the biggest stars in the NBA. He has been the face of the league for nearly the entirety of his NBA career.

Now, even at 40 years old, James is considered one of the best players in the NBA and the second-best player on the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, with the recent Luka Doncic trade, the 25-year-old is arguably the best player on the roster.

During his NBA career, James has won a plethora of accolades, including four NBA Championships with three different franchises. One would assume that at this stage in his career, there aren't many expectations from James to lead the Lakers to a title, right? Not according to NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith.

The ESPN analyst recently shared his list of the top five NBA players who are under the most pressure to win the 2025 championship. The 40-year-old James was at the top of the list, followed by his longtime rival, Stephen Curry.

Stephen A. Smith's list of NBA players under the MOST PRESSURE to win a title 2024-2025 season. 👀 pic.twitter.com/LmHZ3hk375
— Ball (@BallTalkO) February 11, 2025

As a professional basketball player, James is always under the pressure to lead his team to glory, but to expect him to be under the most pressure to achieve the feat during the twilight years of his career seems a bit unfair.

It can argued that James' greatness has in a way led to fans and media having unreal expectations from the 4x NBA MVP. After all, no player at his age has ever averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game.

People tend to forget that James has insane mileage on his body as he is consistenly competed in the postseason. Either way, with Doncic now on the roster, James and the Lakers have a real shot at winning it all.