LBJ WANTED to move to LA. good for him.
life is bigger than basketball.
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The expert commenters here miss three points:
Number one: How thoughtful and articulate Lebron is. He makes the President of the United States look like an idiot.
Number two: Lebron can never replace Michael as basketball's logo...he's just too thick to fly like a Jordan.
Third: THANK YOU, NBA! Of the three major sports, you clearly have the most enlightened owners. Could you please spare a coach from San Antonio or Golden State for the sake of the nation?
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One of the talents great players like Jordan,Magic, or Bird had was the knack to make those around you better. Jordan was a master at it, I saw James do it in Cleveland and Miami and there's no reason to think he can't or won't do it now. His only threat is age and the minutes required to achieve it. He has a lot of miles on those legs after 14 years and no amount of greatness trumps time.
I use to be the biggest Lebron James fan, his thrilling championship with Cleveland was one of my greatest sports moments, but I have lost all respect for him. His move to LA, has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with trying to get into the movie industry and living a Hollywood lifestyle. The basketball gods, like all sports gods, are unforgiving especially to do those it has given the most gifts. Expect nothing good from this ill advised switch to la-la land. He went against the code of working hard to win a championship, he traded it all in for a pair of sunglasses and warm weather. He can't lose enough games to suit me. Right now I root for two teams: The New York Knicks and any team that is playing the Lakers.
Wow! What an EGO! The “pointing” philosophy of victory.
Every young team should be so lucky to have King James as a teammate. The smart ones will listen, practice, practice, practice, and learn, then listen, and practice, practice, practice. For every hour King James practices, the young ones better put in 2 hours. Or they should be critique for their lack of work ethic. Nothing substitutes for inexperience except work, work, and more work.
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I've been an NBA fan for over 50 years and, with apologies to Jordan who is the greatest offensive player of all time, James is the greatest basketball player of all time.
Now, it probably isn't easy playing with James, who dominates the ball and is super-competitive.
But, with the amount of scrutiny he receives, it probably isn't easy being James.
As a fan, I just sit back and enjoy the show.
Part Robertson, part Jordan, part Bird, and part Magic, James is the greatest combination of size, speed, power, and precision I've ever seen.
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@Didier People always ignore that Michael Jordan was the best defender of his era. LeBron is a great defender when he wants to be, but he has always taken many plays off on the defensive end. Jordan never took a play off. That's one of the reasons he is still #1.
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This article does not even mention the name of a single Blazer player and credits the loss to “miscommunication” and “the need to grow together”, but not to the teamwork of Portland. Also not mentioned, the Blazers have a 15 game win streak over the Lakers.
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This year it's the P word but next year it will all be about the K word ..as in Kawhi Leonard!
He should have gone to the Rockets. Just saying...
@Peter Last I checked, teams are still only allowed to play with one ball. Would Harden have given it up? Because LeBron wouldn't have. Their styles are incompatible.
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Clevelander here: tell the other guys to forget everything they learned and worked on last season; you have one coach now and he's on the floor with you. Do what he says and you'll go far. Don't, and you'll go even farther, possibly to Cleveland in a trade.
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In later years a basketball player may reflect on the time they spent on a team with LeBron James and be very appreciative they had that rare opportunity. Realizing it was a life changing personal experience to learn what true excellence is, both on and off the court.
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"Showtime" is back, and it's not just LeBron!
What I saw of a pre-season game against the Nuggets(?), showed:
-- lightning speed, fantastic passing and movement down the floor at pace difficult to guard against and the most "showtime" showtime the Lakers have shown in eons
-- a fabulous collection of young, eager and hard playing talent
-- LeBron will just have to move quicker!
-- it will take accommodation and understanding from the young players and from LeBron
-- on 3s, it's not just getting better at making them, it's getting better at defending them (the Nuggets killed them with 3 pointers - one can only imagine what Houston will do)
But my bet's on the Lakers for years of coming fun! Thank you LeBron for making the move. And thank you Lakers organization (is that you Magic?) for getting such wonderful new young talent. If the pieces can fit and work together, the team will be something beautiful to see. I hope so!
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