Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, one reason why Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James decided to sign with the team as a free agent in the summer of 2018 was because of how Los Angeles treated Kobe Bryant in the twilight of his NBA career.
“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 said,” Shelburne wrote. “James liked playing for an iconic franchise as much as he liked how it treated its iconic players.”
By the time Bryant’s last season in the NBA rolled around, the 2015-16 season, he wasn’t close to the player he was back in his prime. He was in his late 30s and fresh off a pair of injury-riddled campaigns, having appeared in just 41 games in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 regular seasons combined.
The 2012-13 season was Bryant’s last truly special one in the NBA, and it ended when he suffered an Achilles injury before the playoffs. But even following that injury, the Lakers gave him another contract and allowed him to have a big role during his final seasons while he declined.
Bryant averaged 16.9 shot attempts per game while shooting 35.8 percent from the floor and 28.5 percent from deep in his final season in the league.
He ended his Lakers career on a high note, as he dropped 60 points in a contest against the Utah Jazz in April of 2016. Bryant knocked down 22 of his 50 shots from the floor in a game Los Angeles won by five points.
Conversely, James has yet to show any major signs of decline with the Lakers, even though he’s no spring chicken by any stretch. He played 71 games in the 2023-24 regular season and averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
The 39-year-old also earned an All-Star nod — the 20th of his NBA career — along with a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in his 21st season in the league.
It seems as if there’s a real chance that James will finish his time in the pros with the storied Lakers franchise. After all, he agreed to a new deal with the Lakers a few months back, and he is set to turn 40 years old later this year.
Here’s to hoping that James will end his NBA career in a way that does justice to his legendary stint in the league.
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