LeBron James has never been normal. He has no basketball genealogy, no tutor, no mentor, yet all it took was him entering the NBA in 2003 to leave an everlasting mark on the game, let alone what he’s accomplished in his 21 professional years.

For most, a storied two-decade-plus career is enough to etch their name in history, allowing them to walk into the sunset feeling confident that their accomplishments will be quaint 30 years down the line.

For James, who possibly already has the ultimate labor victory, he is only getting started.

More on the way

Choose any topic — whether it has to do with basketball or life — James has done it in some way. It can be a certain benchmark, an old record, or off-court matters; chances are LeBron put his own spin on it or addressed it — physically or verbally — in some way. Truly, he has never been a Neotype in any way.

The Los Angeles Lakers forward can leave basketball today, and he’ll still be one of the most discussed people 50 years down the line. But at 39 years old and having recently become the first active athlete to reach billionaire status, he is young — and still has much left to cover.

“I hope it’s not just the game of basketball,” said James on how he wants to be remembered. “If it’s just the game of basketball that people talk about me in the sense of I think I’ve kind of failed my mission. … If those conversations don’t hit the barbershop, emails, blogs, forms, or whatever the case may be, I feel like my mission wasn’t completed.

“I’m still not done. I am old as f*** in basketball terms. But I am young in life. I still have so much more work to do. I am still building my blocks,” The King added.

Taking his cues from a legend

LeBron has always rejected the traditional path to success. From his leadership on the court and his unfading approach late in games to setting the bar for athletes societally, he’s perhaps the most inventive athlete ever.

But as he’s aged in his basketball years, something that’s grown quickly with him is his desire to leave a mark on the sport, much like the great Kobe Bryant.

“Fast forward 20 years from now: If basketball is the best thing I’ve done in my life, then I’ve failed,” stated the late Lakers icon after retiring from the NBA. “It’s a very simple mission, very simple quest, very simple goal. These next 20 years need to be better than the previous 20. It’s as simple as that, and that is what drives me.”

If Bron can make his next 20 years better than his last 20 years, we are looking at a global impact beyond description and something that may never be replicated. Some things he’s already done, like building a production company while still playing basketball at an MVP level, haven’t been done before.