Over 4+ seasons in Los Angeles, LeBron James has seen it all. From the ultimate low of starting the season 2-10 to the ultimate high of winning the NBA Championship, James’ tenure with the Lakers can be described as up and down.
This season has followed that trend, and the Lakers now find themselves just a few games back from the Western Conference playoff picture.
But even after all LeBron has done for and endured with this franchise, NBA analyst Keyshawn Johnson says he’s still thought of as a rental in the eyes of Lakers Nation. Here’s what he had to say on the subject in a segment on ‘Keyshawn, J-Will, & Max:.’
“He’s a Laker, but he’s not a homegrown Laker… They consider LeBron here as a rental, we just keep renewing the lease.”
Keyshawn Johnson on LeBron in LA:
“He’s a Laker, but he’s not a homegrown Laker… They consider LeBron here as a rental, we just keep renewing the lease.”
(via @KeyJayandMax) pic.twitter.com/8g6hZYDCq7
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 12, 2023
When you look back over the Lakers’ history, many of their stars were ‘homegrown,’ meaning they developed into stars while members of the Lakers. Guys like Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Jerry West spent their entire careers with the Purple and Gold/ The same cannot be said of James, whose stint in Los Angeles makes up his fourth jersey swap in almost 20 seasons.
It’s a scathing hot take from Johnson, especially since LeBron delivered on bringing a championship to the franchise. Still, it doesn’t mean that LeBron is going to stick around forever.
Will LeBron James Spend The Rest Of His Career As A Laker?
Needless to say, being a sub-.500 team halfway through the season is not the success LeBron was hoping for, and many experts have suggested he could be considering another move this summer when he’s eligible to be traded.
Contrary to those reports, however, there are rumblings that James may be happy enough where he’s at.
“I keep hearing he wants to stay with the Lakers,” Lowe said, via Lakers Daily. “He wants to finish his career with the Lakers. His comments though should be interpreted as his patience is not infinite and if this is just a continued morass of losing, maybe that changes. But if you force me to bet, I’d still bet on him finishing his career with the Lakers. And I’d feel pretty confident in that.”
No matter where LeBron ends up finishing his career, his stint with the Lakers will always be controversial. Having spent the shortest time here, all of which were after his prime, not all Lakers fans have connected to him the same way they connected to Kobe.
At this stage of his career, that’s to be expected for LeBron, but closing out with at least one more title before it’s all said and done could change everything about how we look at James’ legacy as a Laker.
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