The LeBron Lakers Era Has Been Somewhat Disappointing

In 2018, after a second stint in Cleveland that resulted in four straight NBA Finals appearances and a title in 2016, LeBron James announced that he would once again be leaving the Cavaliers organization, and this time would be taking his talents to Hollywood, where he would join the Los Angeles Lakers.

At the time, the Lakers were in the midst of the worst stretch in their franchise's storied history, as they had not made the playoffs since 2013 and seemed nowhere close to ending that period of mediocrity.

But then, James' arrival in the City of Angels was expected to be the catalyst that would shift the balance of power in the Western Conference, and with one of the greatest players in NBA history donning the purple and gold, the Lakers were expected to compete for titles for years to come.

And yes, James did help bring a championship to the Lakers organization in 2020 in the Orlando bubble, which helped cap off an emotional season for the franchise, which had to deal with losing icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who tragically passed away in January of that year.

For anyone asking, yes, that championship counts and matters. After a down first year in Los Angeles during the 2018–19 season that was hampered by injuries for James and the Lakers, in the summer of 2019, they acquired big man Anthony Davis to pair alongside James, and right out of the gate, the Lakers were perhaps the best team in basketball, as they were wire-to-wire the number one seed in the West, and it was not a fluke they won the championship that season.

However, since that 2020 championship, the consistent success just hasn't been there for James and the Lakers.

In the following five seasons, the Lakers lost in the first round three times (2021, 2024, 2025), missed the playoffs entirely in 2022, and while they did make the Conference Finals in 2023, they ended up being swept by the Denver Nuggets. While going into every year the expectation has been to compete for a championship, the Lakers have simply not been able to. Whether that be due to injuries, coaching, or questionable roster decisions, in my opinion, it all has led to the James era in Los Angeles being somewhat of a letdown, at least thus far.

The team probably has relied a bit too much on LeBron, who arrived in Los Angeles close to his 34th birthday, is heading into his sixteenth NBA season, and is in his forties—just ending his 22nd year in the association. Meanwhile, Davis has struggled to stay on the floor consistently since that 2019–20 championship season and never seemed willing to take that torch from LeBron and assert himself as "the man" in Los Angeles.

All of that came to a head this past February, when the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks shocked the sports world as Los Angeles was able to acquire 25-year-old superstar Luka Dončić from the Mavericks in a package centered around Davis. The move was a league-altering deal that allowed the Lakers to find their next superstar post-LeBron, while probably also acknowledging that the James-Davis partnership did not live up to the potential or expectations people had for the duo after that first season.

LeBron's time in Los Angeles hasn't been a failure, to be clear. As a Laker, he became the NBA's all-time leading scorer and has maintained a high level of play well into his later years in the league—only really comparable to Tom Brady, who played at an elite level in the NFL into his mid-forties. Not to mention, he also did bring a championship to the franchise. But one ring and only two deep playoff runs in seven seasons do seem a bit underwhelming when you consider the championship expectation James has for himself and his teams every year.

The LeBron Lakers era has no doubt been fun, but it has also been filled with drama and inconsistency. As we likely only have a year or two left with James in the NBA, I think it is fair to say that, for the expectations people had for LeBron in L.A., it has been somewhat disappointing.