Lakers ex-GM Mitch Kupchak thinks LeBron deserves statue outside Crypto.com Arena

Step into Star Plaza outside Crpyto.com Arena and you’re instantly met with immortality cast in bronze. 

Magic Johnson pointing out the open man, Jerry West driving to the basket, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shooting his skyhook, Shaquille O’Neal hanging on the rim and Kobe Bryant pointing to the sky after an 81-point game.

The Lakers don’t just hand out statues. They consecrate eras.

So, where does LeBron James fit in that sacred space?

That question — whispered, argued, shouted across Lakers forums for years — found a new voice this week when former Lakers player and longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak spoke exclusively to The California Post. 

“LeBron [James] of course deserves one,” he said, matter-of-fact, like he was pointing out that the sky is blue.

It’s a sharper stance than the one recently offered by Byron Scott, who dismissed the idea, citing James’ lone championship with the Lakers — the 2020 title won inside the Orlando bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One ring, Scott argued, isn’t enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with dynasties.

“If you look at the players that have statues in front of Crypto.com, these are long lifers. They’ve been with the Lakers for almost their entire career, and they’ve had multiple championships,” Scott told TMZ. 

But Kupchak sees the franchise differently. Not as a Mount Rushmore carved down to four faces but as a living museum.

“There’s too many,” Kupchak said when asked to define the Lakers’ all-time hierarchy. Instead, he pointed to the statues themselves — the truest barometer of greatness in Los Angeles — and then added names he believes are still missing. “Phil Jackson deserves one. James Worthy and Michael Cooper deserve one.”

Then came the pivot back to the present.

LeBron, he insists, belongs in that conversation. Eventually.

James is still writing his — chasing wins, defying age, reshaping what longevity looks like in the modern NBA. And in Kupchak’s mind, that ongoing story only strengthens the case, not weakens it.

There’s even a glimpse of the future tucked inside his answer.

“Maybe Luka [Doncic] will one day get one as well.”

That’s how these things work in Los Angeles. Today’s debates become tomorrow’s monuments. Ownership — now under Mark Walter — will ultimately decide who gets the bronze treatment. But history tends to leave clues.

And if Kupchak is right, one day soon enough, LeBron won’t just be part of Lakers history.

He’ll be standing outside it. Forever.

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