“Part of the reason James came to the Lakers as a free agent in 2018 is the standard of care they showed during the final seasons of Bryant’s career a decade ago, sources said,” Ramona Shelburne of ESPN wrote. “James liked playing for an iconic franchise as much as he liked how it treated its iconic players.”

NBA fans will have to wait a little longer to see LeBron James in the preseason. Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that the Los Angeles Lakers star would

LeBron James’ tenure as a Los Angeles Lakers star has nothing to do with NBA great Kobe Bryant. The “Black Mamba” retired in 2016 after 20 seasons, all of which he spent in LA after being drafted and quickly traded from the Charlotte Hornets in 1996.