What will LeBron's legacy be with the Lakers?
Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor and analyst Mike Trudell reflect on LeBron James' six seasons with the Lakers which included the 2020 NBA Championship. Check out the full conversation on "The Big Number" and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
There are kind of two different perspectives.
There's the one side, that looks at the whole LeBron era, and I-- by the way, I think this is a minority.
It's just, it's a vocal minority, right?
Of, okay, LeBron's never gonna be quite Kobe, and it was just one title, and just kinda we're never really fully in on LeBron.
And, I think most Laker fans, though, are actually super reasonable and think LeBron overall did exactly what he should have done and what was expected of him to do.
He brought a title.
I think they have a good shot of going back-to-back if it's not for what I would call the bubble tax, where there was a month in between when they won the title in October and when training camp started.
And the whole team basically got either injured or was worn down in the playoffs.
And it wasn't just the Lakers, by the way.
All four teams that went to the conference finals that year, so it was the Lakers, the Celtics, the Heat, and the Nuggets, all four crashed out in the 2021 postseason.
So that's a long way of saying I think the Lakers have a chance to win at least the two titles, and then maybe they're in the mix if they don't do the Westbrook trade.
So that So all of that, like, that's not on LeBron.
LeBron did what, he was expected to do and was still an all-star level player at age 41.
So that's one chapter.
Now, I think if he comes back and embraces the role that he did in March when the Lakers go 15 and two with Luka number one, with Austin and LeBro- LeBron kind of splitting off whoever that w- number two was gonna be on a given night, and then LeBron doing the role player defensive things that somehow a 41-year-old in that age is still able to impact you as the low man in given games, maybe not the whole game, but in given games.
Like that, that was something I think that most reasonable Laker fans would have appreciated again, especially on a veteran's minimum.
But with all of that said, I think it was also There's also part of the fan base that's just kind of ready, let's see what Luka Doncic can do as the guy now.
'Cause you can't be the guy when LeBron James is in town.
How could you?
Was there ever a real guy on a Kobe Bryant team after he kind of took the reins from Shaq that could, that could be the guy there?
Was-- Is there ever gonna be somebody that could eclipse Steph in Golden State?
No, including Kevin Durant, by the way.
It's just not something that happens for a star of that level.
And so him going on to a, to a new journey, to a new pasture, I think most Laker fans are like, "Okay, I get it.
Like, this Good, good for him."
