If LeBron Wants to Pass Jordan, He Needs to Leave L.A. (and Win)

The Lakers are moving on soon — and 1 ring in a place like, say, New York City is worth more than 2 elsewhere.

LeBron James leaves the court after the game at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 2023. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Most NBA summers revolve around LeBron James in some way or another, because no superstar has tended to use his leverage more frequently (if not always effectively) than The King. He has always tended to spend this time hunting for upgrades, whether in pressuring his teams’ front offices to surround him with more talent or in shopping himself around for better situations to win championships in.

But this summer — one defined by little else of the same star team-hopping that James helped popularize — LeBron has been the league’s center of attention for slightly different reasons.

After opting into his contract ahead of free agency, the rumors started swirling around James’ future with the Los Angeles Lakers: In the absence of a long-term contract offer, was there a rift between player and team as L.A. transitioned to its new era with franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić? Were agent Rich Paul’s comments (“LeBron wants to compete for a championship… He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.”) a signal that James was eyeing an exit?

As of now, The Athletic reports that LeBron and the Lakers haven’t had any of the trade or buyout conversations that would be required for James to not be on the team when the 2025-26 season commences this fall. But if this summer has confirmed anything, it’s that the Lakers are no longer in the business of optimizing LeBron James’ legacy. And that’s going to keep being a problem when we’re talking about a player whose entire career has been meticulously crafted to build the greatest résumé in basketball history.