LeBron James’ arrival to the Lakers was a huge turning point for the franchise. Prior to James signing with LA, the franchise had been struggling, not making the playoffs for a long time. James arrived in LA and immediately made them a contender.
The Lakers’ last major superstar was Kobe Bryant. Bryant spent his last few seasons in purple and gold struggling with injuries and trying to carry a young squad to the promised land. But with age, Bryant was no longer the explosive athlete he once was.
When Bryant retired, the Lakers were left without a superstar for the first time in 20 years. But the Lakers didn’t have to wait for too long. Within 2 years of losing Kobe Bryant to retirement, the Lakers were able to sign the King to help galvanize the squad.
James left Cleveland to join LA. He spent 4 years in Cleveland when he returned in 2014. He wanted to deliver on his promise and help the franchise win its first NBA championship.
And he delivered on that promise in 2016 when the Cavs completed the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. The Cavs were down 3-1 to the Warriors in a rematch of their Finals encounter from the previous year.
All hope seemed lost, but James put in an all-time great performance to help the Cavs get the win. But in 2017, the Cavs traded away Kyrie Irving, and James didn’t have a reliable second star to help him in the court.
James joined the Lakers in 2018 with renewed vigor and in search of a new challenge. For the first time in his career, James was playing for a team in the Western Conference. And James marked his arrival to the Lakers in spectacular fashion.
In LeBron James’ first game as a Los Angeles Laker, he and the team traveled to Portland to face Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. LeBron got his first points in a Lakers’ uniform when he stole the ball and dunked it on the other end.
Not one to be outshined in his home, Lillard came back and dropped another dunk on the Lakers.
But James wanted to make a statement, so he took the ball from his teammates and executed yet another dunk, thus telling the world that the Lakers are to be looked out for.
Within 2 seasons of James joining the Lakers, he helped lead the franchise to a record 17th NBA championship.
And while last season was a disappointing one, the Lakers have reloaded their squad by adding Russell Westbrook, as they hunt for their 18th NBA championship.
