LeBron James left Cleveland for a second time, joining the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that many people expected. However, it was also widely-regarded that another star like Paul George and/or Kawhi Leonard would be joining The King in Hollywood. As it turns out, George preferred staying in Oklahoma City while Leonard was recently dealt to the Toronto Raptors. So why did LeBron go to a Los Angeles team that has not made the playoffs for several seasons? Apparently it is for the challenge of bringing the Lakers back to relevancy.
.@KingJames tells @Rachel__Nichols why he decided to join the Lakers over a team that might have been closer to winning a championship. pic.twitter.com/sbelK3pGJg
— ESPN (@espn) July 30, 2018
“I like the challenge. I like the challenge of being able to help a team get to some places that they haven’t been quite in a while and obviously the Lakers haven’t made the playoffs in a few years. But the Lakers’ organization and historical franchise matches up there will all of the greats.”
James is right in saying that the Lakers have had a tough go of things recently. They have not made the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season, promptly getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round that year. But the real big piece of why he joined the Lakers is for the sake of being part of one of the greatest franchises in all of sports, historically speaking.
