1. The Lakers legacy
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful franchises in the history of the NBA. The team has won 16 NBA championships, second only to the Boston Celtics’ 17 titles. To put their greatness into perspective, the next two teams on the list, the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors, have won six titles.
For the first time in his career, LeBron will be playing in the shadows of basketball legends. Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers dominated the 1980s with five NBA titles. Shaq and Kobe won three straight from 2000-02, and Kobe won another two championships in 2009-10. As the biggest free agent signing in L.A. since O’Neal, the same championship expectations are going to be on the shoulders of James, only amplified as a three-time champion and one of the greatest players to ever live.
This type of pressure is a first in 15 years, even for him. In Cleveland, LeBron was viewed as a hero for bringing a NBA title to a city known for its consistently losing professional franchises. Sure, Miami was thrilled that he added two championships in 2012 and 2013. However, the media and fans in south Florida aren’t known for their passion for basketball, and the pressure on star players isn’t as high.
It’s not going to be so relaxed in Los Angeles. Playing for the most high-profile team in the NBA, the pressure to win will begin in late October. Just like the legends before him, the expectation will be for James to win multiple titles throughout his tenure in Hollywood.
At 33 years old, with the current roster and amount of elite teams in the Western Conference (especially now that the Warriors added DeMarcus Cousins), it’ll be excruciatingly difficult to bring the Lakers — as currently constructed — back to championship prominence.
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A Kawhi Leonard trade (or signing in 2019) could change all that, but it’d waste one precious year of peak LeBron. Unlike previous stops in Cleveland and Miami, he doesn’t have another superstar player to share the pressure. If he’s unable to capture a title in L.A., a city that demands greatness, fans and media will be relentlessly critical. For a player who wants to be known as the greatest of all time, this has the potential to prevent his legacy from reaching its peak.