What's LeBron James' Lakers legacy? His jersey should go in the rafters, but he didn't do enough for a statue
We don't yet know where LeBron James will play his next NBA game. We do know that it won't be with the Lakers. His time in Los Angeles is finished after eight seasons.
I was on air when this news broke, and it wasn't long before the legacy question took over the segment. How will LeBron's time with the Lakers be remembered? Did he do enough for a statue? For his No. 23 jersey to be pulled up into the rafters?
For me, the jersey retirement is a given. It's happening. But he's not a statue guy. Not in that franchise. The bar is too high with the six statues Lakers being Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Shaq, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. Of those names, only Kareem and Shaq ever played for another franchise, and they won a total of eight championships in the purple and gold. The rest were Laker lifers. You will never think of another franchise when you see their name.
For LeBron, the Lakers were the third and, to date, most insignificant stop on his long NBA journey. He will never do anything to exceed his legacy in Cleveland. He will never win more championships with one franchise than he did with the Heat. His impact on the Lakers, frankly, wasn't that much more than Anthony Davis, allowing for the fact that Davis never would've come without LeBron, who did revitalize the Lakers as a preeminent destination. That was important in coming out of the post-Kobe haze.
All that said, LeBron accomplished more with the Lakers than anyone could have reasonably expected, even if it never really felt like a seismic impact akin to his Miami Decision or Cleveland homecoming. He was 35 when he went to L.A. The thought was he would play out that first and last contract and walk off into a Hollywood ending. Instead, he stayed, and played at an All-NBA level, for nearly a decade. He became the all-time leading scorer in a Lakers uniform. He won a championship in a Lakers uniform.
A bubble championship. But a championship nonetheless.
Without the benefit of years to look back on his Lakers tenure with proper perspective, it feels, in the moment, like there are really only two seasons to regret from LeBron's eight in Los Angeles.
The failed back-to-back in 2021
We all talk about Rob Pelinka letting Alex Caruso and, to a lesser degree, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope get away from the 2020 title team, but they were still with the Lakers that next season, and having picked up Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell to replace the departed Dwight Howard, they were sitting pretty in the No. 3 seed in the last month of the season with every reason to believe they could make a run at back-to-back titles.
Then came March 20, 2021, when Lakers fans will tell you Solomon Hill deliberately dove into LeBron's legs. It isn't even close to true. LeBron lost the ball and Hill was going for it and the mechanics of the interaction simply led to Hill crashing into LeBron's lower half. Nonetheless is was a massive blow to the Lakers' season.
LeBron wound up missing the next five weeks with an ankle injury he maintains he has never fully recovered from. In that time, the Lakers dropped from the No. 3 seed to the play-in tournament.
Still, the Lakers wound up leading the Phoenix Suns 2-1 in their first-round series before Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury in the first half of Game 4. Davis missed Game 5 and only managed five minutes in Game 6 before pulling the plug. The Lakers lost all three games after the Davis injury to drop the series to a Suns team that made it to the Finals.
That was a championship Lakers team, and equally important it was a wide-open championship race that the Milwaukee Bucks wound up winning by the length of Kevin Durant's big toe. LeBron's injury sunk L.A's playoff seed. The Davis injury sunk their season. And after that, Caruso and Caldwell-Pope were discarded, and the Lakers were never the same kind of threat.
The late-season 2026 injuries
This past year's Lakers almost certainly weren't going to win the title or probably even make the Finals. Having to go through Victor Wembanyama or the Oklahoma City Thunder with Deandre Ayton as your starting center was a bridge too far. That said, for LeBron to miss out on the opportunity to find out what a playoff run alongside a fully healthy Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves could look like will forever be a shame.
The Lakers were the hottest team in basketball when Dončić and Reaves both went down in a loss to Oklahoma City on March 31 with just five games left in the season. They had won 17 of their previous 19 games. The defense was inspired. LeBron was clicking as a willing and overly able supporter of Dončić.
Next thing you know Dončić is done for the season and Reaves doesn't come back until Game 4 of L.A.'s first-round series against Houston. LeBron still got them past the Rockets, one of his true Laker feats, but there was no way they were going any farther than that without Dončić. Maybe they wouldn't have anyway. But not being able to find out goes down as a real what-if to close LeBron's Lakers tenure.
Again, other than that those two examples, LeBron's run with the Lakers went about as well anyone could have realistically hoped. It bears repeating: he was 35 years old when he signed up. We know now that was basically still his prime, but, at the time, his Lakers run, at least the back half of it, was supposed to be a last-legs kind of deal.
It wasn't. LeBron still had -- and frankly still has for whatever team gets him next -- a lot of greatness left in his basketball tank, and even though his best years were in Cleveland and Miami, the longevity portion of his GOAT argument was largely built in Los Angeles. It wasn't statue-worthy. But it will definitely leave his jersey hanging in the rafters one day.
Add CBS Sports on GoogleBadenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
