LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are having a real moment right now. Winners of 16 of their last 19 games, they’re the hottest team in the NBA, and with Luka Doncic now on board as the superstar who will carry them into the next generation, let’s just say that it’s good to be a Laker fan.
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But it hasn’t always been a smooth ride for LeBron. Despite his status as one of the greatest players of all time, the King has faced some resistance from Lakers fans since joining the team in 2018. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as they say.
It’s not unusual for a team’s fans to defend their hometown superstar at all costs, but what Kobe Bryant and the Lakers fandom has is different. Kobe is and was so beloved by Lakers Nation that even when LeBron, one of the best to ever do it, signed with L.A., he was treated as an outsider unworthy of inheriting what Kobe had built.
LeBron has done everything he can to earn the respect of Lakers fans, and he’s mostly succeeded, even if he’ll never be as beloved by Lakers fans as Kobe. LeBron helped deliver the 17th title in franchise history in 2020, and he’s since broken the all-time scoring record set by another Laker great, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
A few months before LeBron took his talents to Hollywood, Kobe tweeted his support for the future Laker by saying, “We can enjoy one without tearing down one. I love what he’s doing. Don’t debate what can’t be definitely won by anyone.”
We can enjoy one without tearing down one. I love what he’s doing. Don’t debate what can’t be definitively won by anyone #enjoymy5 #enjoymj6 #enjoylbjquest
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 28, 2018
Just over two months later, LeBron signed with the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant supported LeBron before and after he signed with the Lakers
LeBron may have faced an uphill battle to win the hearts and minds of Lakers fans, but he faced no such difficulty with Kobe, who welcomed him with open arms once LBJ decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers a second time and come to L.A.
Kobe had been retired for two years at that point, and him offering his support to his heir apparent (and former classic Nike commercial rival) as the face of the Lakers kept alive the tradition that Kobe said was imparted on him when he arrived, as he was welcomed by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Lakers are a family business, and that goes beyond just being owned by the Buss family. So many all-time greats have donned the purple and gold that it is like a brotherhood that spans generations. LeBron was the newest member at the time, and now Luka Doncic is set to inherit that mantle.
Kobe is known as one of the most competitive players of all time, but in his later years especially, the respect he showed for his contemporaries and the legends that came before him stood out. Becoming a “true Laker” in the eyes of the fans has taken time for LeBron, but it all began with Kobe’s support.
