On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Variety’s Marlow Stern unpacks LeBron James’ decision to leave the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons and one championship title. The shakeup leaves one of the NBA’s most high-profile teams a little short on star power.
James is undeniably one of the greatest to ever play the game. But as he leaves the Los Angeles Lakers, the team is at a crossroads and in need to rebuilding. Crucially, for an L.A. team, it’s in need of recruiting some marquee names — or nurturing the next Shaq or Kobe.
James’ prowess on the court has been overshadowed in recent years by his heavy-handed approach to steering his son, Bronny James, to the Lakers. Stern, who is Variety‘s chief correspondent and a devoted NBA fan, says the Bronny James situation has frustrated some fans. LeBron James‘ decision came a day after the Lakers’ secured a two-year deal with Bronny. And LeBron is also thinking about his legacy, Stern opines.
“With his son’s future secured, I think LeBron decided that it was time to move on. And honestly, I think he also looked at the team and the setup and realized that they probably won’t win a championship next year. And I think what he really wants more than anything is a fifth NBA title,” Stern says. “He wants to basically have more titles than Steph Curry and be the player of his generation with the most NBA titles. He wants to inch closer to Michael Jordan, who has six NBA titles. The constant refrain is who’s the GOAT of the NBA? And it’s always between Michael Jordan and LeBron. And LeBron is very aware of these conversations and has been asked about them ad nauseum. And so I think winning a fifth title for him is really important.”
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