LeBron James Heads West

LeBron James has decided that the next phase of his basketball career will happen in Los Angeles. Unlike the first time he left the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he made the announcement in a circus like atmosphere on national TV that he was going to Miami, the announcement that he will be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers next season was much more low key, and not met with the rancor that followed his Miami announcement. After all, he did return to Cleveland and win the NBA title in 2016, with the team also making the NBA Finals the other three years he of his second tour with the Cavaliers, losing each time to the Golden State Warriors. That certainly was not his fault, as he showed in this year’s finals when he carried the team on his back.

This move to the Lakers is an interesting twist, in that he’s not joining a team that is a player or two away from a title. The Lakers franchise has won 16 NBA championships, the last in 2010, but has not been to the post season in five years. Last season the team showed signs of life, with its best finish in those five years at 35-47. The team has a few good young players, so perhaps LeBron, who has a four year, $154 million contract with L.A., is content to play a major role in returning the Lakers to prominence. Winning a championship with the Lakers will add to the teams mystique, and he’ll join the many all time greats who won in L.A., like Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant.