LeBron James denied a report by ESPN that he signed with the Lakers as a free agent in 2018 partly due to how the organization handled Kobe Bryant’s final seasons of his career with great care.
Taking to X on Saturday, the Lakers star shared a cap emoji and included a post by Legion Hoops that read: “Report: LeBron James joined Lakers partly because of how they handled final seasons of Kobe Bryant’s career.”
James explained why he moved his family from his native Cleveland, where he helped bring a championship to the Cavaliers in 2016, to Los Angeles.
“I came to the Lakers cause I wanted to help Jeanie win championships, bring that Spark back to the Lakers and see my family blossom in SoCal,” James wrote.
“Why would I make a decision on how someone else is treated. Mama always said ‘Stay out of grown folks business.’”
James has been open about how his wife, Savannah and kids — Lakers rookie Bronny, Bryce Maximus and daughter Zhuri — enjoy living in California.
The report, published by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on Oct. 4, covered the Lakers’ training camp with first-year head coach JJ Redick.
“Part of the reason James came to the Lakers as a free agent in 2018 is the standard of care they showed during the final seasons of Bryant’s career a decade ago,” sources told ESPN. “James liked playing for an iconic franchise as much as he liked how it treated its iconic players.”
Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in California in January 2020, spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers vice president of operations, called former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski — a former close friend of Bryant, who’s coached both him and James on Team USA — to ask for advice on how to approach the end of James’ career.
“It was just about going into the last part of LeBron’s career, how his legacy should be intertwined with what the team is doing,” Krzyzewski told ESPN of his message to Pelinka. “I said it can’t be the only thing that you’re thinking of. But is there a way that you can help him in positioning him in different ways on offense? On defense?”
Bryant, a five-time NBA champ, played his final game on April 13, 2016, and the Lakers retired his numbers 8 and 24 on December 18, 2017.
James, who turns 40 on Dec. 30, signed a two-year extension worth $101.35 million to return to the Lakers in July.
The 20-time NBA All-Star could’ve secured a $104 million max deal, but he took a $2.7 million discount to help the Lakers avoid salary cap restrictions, according to ESPN.
James’ tweet came after he responded to another post by Legion Hoops, which shared a video clip of an NBA broadcaster who said Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook became the Lakers’ scapegoat when they were teammates.
The four-time NBA champ, along with Anthony Davis, did not play in the Lakers’ preseason opener, a 124-107 loss to the Timberwolves on Friday.
In his preseason debut, Bronny recorded two points, one assist, and one rebound in 16 minutes.
James is expected to play in L.A.’s preseason matchup with the Suns on Sunday.
