LeBron James decided to move to Hollywood following a four-year, second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Due to the intense recruiting and persuasion from Magic Johnson, Bron decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2018. James was asked to lead a young squad, coached by a fairly inexperienced Luke Walton. Looking back at it, the roster had some of the most incredible talent in the league – Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, among others. Unfortunately, the $107,225,482 spent as salaries for the entire roster’s payroll wasn’t enough to win a Championship. However, Lance Stephenson believes that with a healthy King James, things would’ve been extremely different.
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The Purple & Gold had been having losing campaigns since their first-round exit in the 2013 playoff. Since the 2012-2013 season, the franchise finished below the 14th spot in their Conference four consecutive times. LeBron’s arrival in 2018 gave a new sign of hope. But, not all fans were excited about the blockbuster acquisition. Die-hard Kobe Bryant fans disapproved of the deal. However, a majority of the crowd was elated to see what LBJ could offer.
Lance Stephenson believes the Los Angeles Lakers could’ve won the 2019 title if not for injuries
The Los Angeles Lakers had a forgettable start to the campaign, losing all three of their games. However, Luke Walton’s boys started to turn things around at a point. However, ust as the group started to find their rhythm, injuries would disrupt all of their plans.
A tumultuous season saw Ingram miss 30 games, Lonzo miss 35 games, Rajon Rondo miss 36 games, and Alex Caruso miss 57 games. But what hurt them the most was LeBron’s absence. The team looked in-form holding on to a 20-14 record. Sustaining his first major injury to his groin in the win over the Golden State Warriors, the four-time Most Valuable Player was initially out for 17 games. In that span, the team had a horrific 6-11 record. Everything went downhill from there.
According to Lance Stephenson, who also missed 14 games, LAL could’ve won it all, had it not been for the injuries. In a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Stephenson spoke about the potential of the healthy 2018-2019 Lakers.
“If certain guys didn’t get hurt, we woulda won it. LeBron (James) got hurt that year with his groin, (Kyle) Kuzma got hurt. A lot of guys got hurt, I feel like we would’ve won it that year.”
LeBron James’ Lakers would’ve won Championship in 2019 if LeBron & Kyle Kuzma hadn’t gotten hurt says Lance Stephenson to @BallySports.
“We woulda won it!”
“LeBron got hurt that year with his groin, Kuzma got hurt. A lot of guys got hurt, I feel like we would’ve won it that… pic.twitter.com/dnFUMAQUt6
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) July 27, 2023
To be fair, the Lakers had one of the most talented young cores in the league. Over the course of the season, they did grasp a lot of knowledge from LeBron. The team, when healthy, played some outstanding basketball. Ultimately, they finished the season with a subpar 37-45 record, missing the postseason for the sixth straight time.
LeBron James orchestrated a complete rebuild
The 2019 offseason was a busy one for Rob Pelinka and Co. After a disastrous 2018-2019 campaign, the team witnessed a complete roster rebuild. In order to acquire Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade, the franchise had to give up Ingram, Ball, Hart, three first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap.
Fortunately, giving up so many assets did end up working in their favor. AD put on a terrific campaign, averaging 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game in the 2019-2020 season. Behind the co-leadership of Davis and Bron, the California side went on to win the 2020 Championship in the Orlando Bubble.
