LeBron calls cap on idea that he joined Lakers partly because of how they handled Kobe’s final seasons

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne recently reported that LeBron James decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2018 in part because of how the organization treated Kobe Bryant in his final seasons in the NBA.

However, on Saturday, James denied that notion on X and cited other reasons for why he joined Los Angeles.

It would be hard to argue that James hasn’t kept the Lakers relevant in recent years. Since he joined Los Angeles, the team has won one NBA title, appeared in two Western Conference Finals and made a number of playoff appearances.

The Lakers are also fresh off a season in which the team won 47 regular-season games and qualified for the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

However, while Los Angeles has been a frequent playoff contender with James on the roster, the team has only made one deep playoff run since it won the NBA title in 2020.

The Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, which was during Darvin Ham’s first season as the head coach of the team, but have otherwise struggled to win in the postseason in recent years.

Plus, the number of formidable squads in the Western Conference won’t make it easy for the Lakers to be one of the better teams in the conference once again this season.

Teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves all project to contend for a spot in the 2025 NBA Finals. On top of that, teams like the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies stand out as potential dark horses.

However, so long as James and Anthony Davis can remain healthy for a majority of the upcoming campaign, Lakers fans should feel confident that the team will be back in the playoffs.

James is still an elite player at the forward position despite his advanced age — he will turn 40 years old in a few months — and there are few players in the league who provide more of an impact on both ends of the court than Davis does.