Kenny Smith just torched the narrative that the Lakers have taken LeBron James for granted, and he brought the receipts to prove it.
The question exploded after LA’s playoff elimination: Has the front office wasted the King’s final years? Smith, who played alongside Michael Jordan at North Carolina and Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston, destroyed that argument during a recent ‘First Take’ appearance. His comparison? When you play with greatness, you don’t hear about “my team” or cookies on the plane. You hear about championships.
“When he wanted Anthony Davis to be there, someone that could help him win a championship, they went out and figured out a way to get him,” Smith declared. The evidence stacks up fast. The Lakers mortgaged their future to land AD in 2019, delivering LeBron James Lakers their 17th championship just one year later. That’s not taking someone for granted — that’s reshaping your entire franchise around his timeline.
Then they swung the blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic, adding a generational talent to extend the King’s window in Year 24. They grabbed Rui Hachimura to solidify the forward rotation. And in the move that sparked a thousand debates, they drafted Bronny James — keeping LeBron happy while adding a piece to the family legacy. Smith named every transaction like he was reading off a grocery list of proof.
Rob Pelinka catches endless criticism from Lakers Nation and beyond, but Smith defended the embattled GM’s track record. Despite the noise, Pelinka has consistently made aggressive moves to keep the Lakers competitive while LeBron James Lakers chase titles. Not every swing connects — that’s the nature of championship building — but the effort to maximize the greatest player of his generation has never wavered.
The counterargument has merit though. Critics point to roster construction issues, the Russell Westbrook disaster that cost them precious years, and stretches where the supporting cast looked more G-League than championship caliber. The Lakers haven’t always nailed the details, and LeBron’s body language during rough patches suggested frustration with organizational decisions.
But context demolishes that take. The Davis trade required gutting the young core and every available pick. The Doncic acquisition demanded another king’s ransom in assets. When you operate in win-now mode for seven straight seasons, depth suffers and mistakes get magnified. The Lakers didn’t sit idle — they pushed chips to the center of the table repeatedly, prioritizing LeBron’s championship window over long-term flexibility. That’s the opposite of taking someone for granted.
Smith’s Jordan and Olajuwah comparison cuts deep because it exposes what matters. Those legends worried about winning, not amenities or organizational politics. The Lakers have delivered LeBron the co-stars, the moves, the commitment. They drafted his son, for crying out loud — an unprecedented gesture that blurred the line between franchise priorities and family wishes. Whether you agree with every decision or not, you cannot argue they ignored his presence or wasted his greatness through indifference.
Now LeBron enters unrestricted free agency with retirement looming over every conversation. His decision will define how we remember this Lakers chapter and whether his legacy includes one final power move or a quiet exit. But the narrative that LA failed him? Smith just exposed it as fiction.
The Lakers bet everything on the King from the moment he arrived in 2018. They chased stars, traded futures, and bent organizational protocol to keep him happy and competitive. That’s not taking greatness for granted — that’s recognizing it while you still can.
What do you think — have the Lakers done enough for LeBron, or should they have gotten more championships out of this era?