By: Youeal Abera
This past summer, LeBron James announced that he was switching teams. In sharing that he would be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA expressed a number of ardent responses, as did its passionate fans.
Some Lakers fans were thrilled that the greatest player in the league would be joining their beloved team, after a number of disappointing Lakers seasons in recent years. On the other hand, many Cleveland fans were left disappointed that their star player was once again leaving the Cavaliers.
Nevertheless, through focusing on LeBron and the idiosyncratic player that he has become, it’s imperative to answer the fundamental question with regards to his decision: what does this mean for Lebron’s career?
LeBron James, like the greats who have come before him (Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant), has reached a plateau in his athletic career that puts him in an extremely advantageous position. Like the G.O.A.T.S before him, LeBron’s success, attained through an impeccable work ethic and superior skill, allows him the rare agency to position himself however he pleases in the NBA.
LeBron’s decision to play on the West Coast appears to have been mostly unforeseen, and it may have allowed his greatest skeptics and haters to spill more Hatorade on his name. With the right amount of shade, it’s easy to perpetuate the notion that LeBron is ring-hungry, and that he abandoned his hometown just to add another championship to his title. In the same breath, it could be easy to claim that the power LeBron has in navigating the NBA, as though it’s his empire, is unfair, and that the NBA places him on a higher pedestal than the league’s other players.
However, have we seriously forgotten who LeBron is and what he’s done to reach this position of athletic and navigational freedom?
LeBron James is a four-time NBA MVP winner, and he also has three NBA Final MVP’s to his name. He has three championship titles. LeBron propelled the Cavaliers to their first-ever championship win in 2016. Not only did the Cavaliers win this championship series, but with the help of LeBron (and Kyrie Irving), the Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 deficit in the finals. LeBron has played in eight consecutive final series. He has 14 All-Star appearances. In 2017, LeBron made history through his performance with the Cavaliers.
Adam Pearce and Joe Ward, in their New York Times piece “LeBron James is Carrying the Cavaliers in a Historic Way,” spoke on LeBron’s undeniable ability to carry a team during the finals.
“[N]ever before in the playoffs has a player’s supporting cast depended so much on its star to carry them,” Pearce and Ward write. “During this season’s playoffs, James has accounted for nearly a third of his team’s box-score statistics: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots [ . . . ] Over all, James has contributed 32 percent of the Cavaliers’ stats.”
Although Jordan will be widely referred to as the greatest player in NBA history, LeBron has even managed to surpass some of his stats. By 2017, LeBron James had beat Michael Jordan’s record of all-time playoff points (becoming the player in the NBA with the most).
Looking at his impressive statistics, it is impossible to refute that LeBron James is both an NBA icon and hero. That being said, through signing a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron’s career can go nowhere but up.
After losing the first three games in his first season with the legendary sports franchise, LeBron secured his first game win with the Lakers. Again, the early-season struggles have made it ridiculously convenient for LeBron haters to poke fun and belittle his decision to switch teams.
Moreover, with everything LeBron has accomplished in his immensely venerable career, this decision is nothing more than an exciting change for King James. Say what you want about LeBron, or his vehemently loyal fans. At this stage of his career, there’s nothing left for LeBron James to prove.
