LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul claims the Lakers are not legitimate NBA title contenders this season

The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a strong start in the 2025–26 NBA season, boasting a 17–6 record to sit in second place in the Western Conference. Their hot streak continued with a 112–108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, December 8 (Philippine time), at the Wells Fargo Center.

But despite the impressive showing, LeBron James’ longtime agent and close friend, Rich Paul of Clutch Sports, has stirred debate with a blunt assessment of the team’s championship hopes. Speaking in the debut episode of his new podcast, Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul, he expressed doubt that the Lakers are built for a deep postseason run.

“I don’t think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals. I don’t think they have enough to really contend, from that perspective,” Paul said.

“When did is it cool for agents to speak in this manner? When did it become okay? They ain’t good enough, what type of sh*t is that?!”

The crew debate if Rich Paul was spitting or tripping dissing the Lakers ability to make it the finals. pic.twitter.com/10zYkgZU4n

— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) December 9, 2025

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His comments were unexpected, especially given his June interview with NBA insider Shams Charania, where he emphasized that LeBron “wants to compete for a championship” and intends to make “every season he has left count.”

“He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career,” Paul said at the time.

Meanwhile, LeBron continues to defy age and expectations at 40 years old. The Philadelphia game marked just his seventh appearance of the season after missing the early stretch due to a sciatica-related illness, yet he’s averaging 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.6 assists in roughly 33 minutes per game.

The Lakers superstar also added another milestone to his legendary résumé, tallying his 1,015th regular-season victory to surpass Boston Celtics legend Robert Parish for second place on the NBA’s all-time wins list. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1,074 wins remain ahead.

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