LeBron James has been a pillar of hope for the Los Angeles Lakers since he joined in 2018. He helped the Purple and Gold Army win their 17th title in 2019-20, along with Anthony Davis, who joined in 2019. Since AD joined in 2019, coming from the New Orleans Pelicans, the James-Davis duo has achieved great heights for the team. The best of all those accomplishments was, of course, the 2020 championship victory during the pandemic. However, the team has not been able to win anything significant since then. However, the presence of LeBron James is enough to draw the audience towards the Lakers.
Last season, King James broke the 38-year-old record of the ‘Captain’ of the leading scorer in the league. Moreover, the team from Colorado blew the Lakers away. The series was over in four games. Later, LeBron James scared the bejesus out of everybody, hinting at retirement. However, he later turned that thought down and got ready for the next season. But the Lakers got a wake-up call after those couple of hints from LeBron James about his retirement. Hence, they are getting ready to build a team in the post-James era.
Rob Pelinka Ensures That The Lakers Take The First Step To Prepare For The Post-James Era
First of all, the front office re-signed three essential players – Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell. Rob Pelinka and Co. made sure they extended their contract for multi-years. Hence, these players will reach their peak when they will still be wearing the purple and gold uniform. Moreover, Rob Pelinka found his inner Jerry West back in mid-February and, since then, has been making great decisions. He signed Gabe Vincent for a three-year deal.
Vincent came from the Miami Heat, the runners-up of the previous season. Moreover, the Lakers extended Anthony Davis’s contract for three years, too. It is a symbol that the torch will pass from LeBron James to Anthony Davis. The Lakers have a pretty good balance for the upcoming seasons. Rob Pelinka has done a great job to ensure the Lakers take the first step of preparation for the post-James era.
LeBron James Is The Main Center Of Attraction For The LA Side
The Los Angeles Lakers seem to have a tradition of signing players who go on to become the leading all-time scorer. At first, it was Wilt Chamberlain, then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke his record in 1984. It was even before LeBron James was born. However, at the age of 38, playing his 20th NBA season, LeBron James broke the great Captain’s record. He also equaled Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a record number of All-Star selections. The day he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record drew the most attention from the audience in the Lakers games last season. They had a pretty difficult season in the 2022-23 edition.
However, they managed to make the postseason. Moreover, the 17-time champions shocked the world, beating the then-defending champions, Golden State Warriors, in Round 2. Prior to that, the LA side beat the Memphis Grizzlies in Round 1. The Grizzlies were the second seed of the Western Conference. But they could not manage the pressure to hold the Lakers and LeBron James down. Everything was going great until they reached the Western Conference Finals. The eventual champions, Denver Nuggets, were waiting to take revenge for the 2020 conference finals.
