LeBron James rumors: Lakers star 'privately questioned' whether LA fans would ever fully embrace him

In 2018, LeBron James began the third chapter of his career by moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles.

James has accomplished a lot in the six years since, from earning six more All-Star selections to winning the fourth championship of his career. He has also reached several milestones in the purple and gold, including becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Despite his success, James has “privately questioned” whether the fan base would fully embrace him, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Dave McMenamin. The ESPN report explained James had doubts due to years of on-court battles with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

James recently scored his 40,000th career point, a feat only no other player has accomplished. Lakers fans poured in their love and support for their superstar, which wasn’t lost on James.

“Much respect and much loyalty to the Laker fan base for showing me that love,” James said. “Being the first player to do something, that’s pretty cool in this league.”

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LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant history

James and Bryant have established themselves as two of the top NBA players in history, no matter how one ranks them.

The two crossed over between 2003 and 2016, but never played together or even in the same conference. Bryant was on the Lakers for 20 years, and James didn’t transition to the Western Conference until Bryant retired.

James and Bryant matched up 22 times in their careers, with James winning 16 of those contests. Most of the stats across their 22 matchups go in favor of James, too.

	LeBron James	Kobe Bryant
Record	16-6	6-16
MPG	40.2	36.9
PPG	28.2	24.6
APG	7.3	5.2
RPG	7.4	5.0
SPG	1.9	1.1
BPG	0.7	0.2
FG%	46.9%	42.8%
3pt FG%	32.3%	34.1%
FT%	69.4%	84.7%

While the two had notable head-to-head matchups, they never met in the NBA Finals. Many anticipated that Finals matchup would come true during the 2009 NBA Playoffs when the Lakers made the Finals for the second straight season, but James’ Cavaliers fell to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Bryant was back in the Finals in 2010, but the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

James signed with the Heat following the 2009-10 season, but Bryant couldn’t get past the Western Conference Semifinals in the four seasons James made the Finals in Miami.

Here’s how the two currently stack up in terms of accomplishments and accolades:

	LeBron James	Kobe Bryant
MVPs	4	1
Championships	4	5
Finals MVPs	4	2
First Team All-NBA	13	11
All-Defense	6	12
All-Star	20	18
Career points	40,036	33,643

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Will LeBron James get a Lakers statue?

James will almost certainly get a statue in Cleveland and possibly will receive one in Miami as well. He spent nine seasons with the Cavaliers, bringing them their first NBA title, and won two championships with the Heat in four seasons.

While James will likely be remembered most as a Cavalier or Heat, he could end up playing his longest stint with the Lakers.

James is in his sixth season with the Lakers and has a player option in his contract for 2024-25. If he re-signs beyond that, James will enter his eighth season in Los Angeles, surpassing the seven consecutive seasons he spent with the Cavaliers before signing with the Heat in 2010.

Naturally, given his standing in the NBA and what he has accomplished with the Lakers, some have begun wondering if James will also receive a Lakers statue.

First Take’s Shannon Sharpe recently asked Gilbert Arenas about his perspective on the matter on the “Nightcap” podcast, and the former NBA All-Star said “hell no” if his career ended now.

“He don’t have enough accolades in the Laker uniform,” Arenas said. “The closest statue we have with that was Shaq. Shaq [was] eight years, three rings. So, it’s going to be hard to put him in there with six years, 8,000 points, one championship, six All-Stars [appearances]. That’s not good enough for a statue in Los Angeles.”