When LeBron James decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2018, many Lakers fans vowed that they would never support him.
People didn’t like the idea of James coming to Los Angeles and some even displayed clear acts of protest against his arrival.
Less than two years later, James is now the city’s most popular athlete on the most popular team based on a poll from Loyola Marymount University.
“The seventh annual survey, conducted in January and February, asked 1,000 Los Angeles County residents to pick their favorite team from the 10 major pro teams with Los Angeles in their name,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “The Lakers got 35% of the vote and the Dodgers 31%, with only four other teams reaching even 5%: the Rams (7.5%), Clippers (6.4%), Galaxy (6.2%) and Angels (5.3%).
“The survey also asked participants to select their favorite player, with one player representing each of those 10 teams. James dominated, with 46% of the vote, and only three other players even reaching 5%: the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger (10.7%), LAFC’s Carlos Vela (8.3%) and the Angels’ Mike Trout (6.7%).”
The reason for James’ supreme popularity this year is probably twofold.
First, he has helped lead the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. When the season does pick back up, the Lakers are expected to make a deep playoff run and possibly win the title.
Secondly, James helped unite the entire city of Los Angeles amidst the tragic passing of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. James’ openness about his own sense of loss and sadness throughout has been a beacon for Lakers fans all over the world to follow.
Even now, James has managed to remain a positive force amidst the shutdown of the NBA season.
He has spent hours on social media offering entertainment for fans and has been honest about how the lack of NBA basketball has impacted his life.
When the season does resume, fans will likely not only celebrate the return of Lakers basketball, but also the return of James.
