'Hope I made a few proud': LeBron reflects on his Lakers journey

[p]The four-time NBA champion and league's all-time ‌leading scorer has spent the last eight seasons of his glittering career with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-lakers/ngegZ8bg/"]Lakers[/a], leading them to ‌a title in 2020 during the COVID pandemic after two separate stints with ‌the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cleveland-cavaliers/xGk13Tb6/"]Cleveland Cavaliers[/a] and four years with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/miami-heat/CQ7AXnT5/"]Miami Heat[/a].[/p][p]"[b]No, THANK YOU![/b]" [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-lebron/nuIVxFJk/"]James[/a] said on social ‌media in response to a Lakers post that wished him all the best.[/p][p]"[b]Truly ‌an honor to wear the[/b] (Lakers colours) [b]while trying to continue the greatness & legacies that came before me! Hope I made a few proud during my stint.[/b]"[/p][p]Where James plays next is now the most compelling ‌storyline of the NBA's free agency period, which opens ⁠later on Tuesday.[/p][p]The 41-year-old, who last March surpassed ‌Robert Parish's record for most career regular-season games played, has continued to perform at an elite ​level despite his age.[/p][p]Last February, he earned a league-record 22nd consecutive All-Star selection.[/p][p]“[b]LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history,[/b]” Lakers Governor Jeanie ​Buss said in a post that James responded to.[/p][p]"We will always be thankful for his eight years with the Lakers, including the title he led us to in ⁠2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances, ​and the countless records he broke in purple and gold.[/p][p]"[b]We wish him all the best in the future, both on the court and off. He will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="e541b621-1e59-4a27-ad48-898571652297" url="https://x.com/Lakers/status/2071999961500373081" social-type="twitter" /][p]In a testament to his durability, James and his son ‌Bronny became the first father-son duo to play together in a regular-season NBA game in October 2024, fulfilling what he had long said was one of his remaining basketball goals.[/p][p]James, a four-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, joined the Lakers in 2018.[/p][p]He was selected with the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by his hometown Cavaliers, where he spent seven seasons before announcing during a live TV special titled "[i]The Decision[/i]" that he was leaving for Miami.[/p][p]The announcement damaged James' public image and led to many people burning his replica No. 23 jerseys on Cleveland's streets that night.[/p][p]In Miami, James ‌teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to create an instant powerhouse that ​won two NBA titles during their four seasons together in South Beach.[/p][p]James then ‌returned to Cleveland and in 2016 rallied the team from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals to stun the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-state-warriors/SxUtXqch/"]Golden State Warriors[/a] and make good on his promise to deliver the Cavaliers their first championship.[/p][p]Two years later, James again left his hometown team, where he remains the franchise leader in nearly every ⁠major statistical category, to join the Lakers, ⁠where for the first time he ‌played in the NBA's Western Conference.[/p][embed guid="d9c5409b-e267-48de-adfa-51d24559c94a" url="https://x.com/Variety/status/2072041287512133948" social-type="twitter" /]