Lakers Owner Reveals How Team and Fans Leaned on LeBron James Following Kobe’s Death

The 2020 NBA Championship meant a lot to the Lakers and their fans. They lost a legend in Kobe Bryant at the beginning of the year and had a chip on their shoulder to win it all for him.

Behind a tremendous season from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the purple and gold accomplished their goal. They won the NBA title for the first time since Kobe’s 2010 championship run.

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss talked about the role of LeBron in helping LakerNation grieve after the sad departure of Kobe.

“The night before he [Kobe Bryant] passed away, LeBron broke one of his records and Kobe called him to just congratulate him on passing his record…. When we did finally come back and play, LeBron made a speech, where he said to the LakerNation like I’m strong, you know, lean on me. I’ve got broad shoulders, and that’s what we did. LakerNation leaned on LeBron to lead us in this grieving process.”

James has been a blessing for the Lakers ever since he joined the team in 2018. He promised the fans to win a championship soon, and he delivered. Now, the franchise is in a good position can run it back in hopes to win back-to-back championships.

Can the LBJ-AD duo win more championships for the Los Angeles Lakers?

The Western Conference will get even more competitive next year, with the Warriors returning. Many young talented teams are in a perfect position to carry their teams to a deep playoff run. This raises a question: Can the Lakers repeat in this stacked league?

Well, there are no questions that L.A. has one of the best duos on their roster in James and Davis. But outside of this forward pair, there are some glaring issues with their roster. LA still needs to find consistent 3-pt shooters to compete on par with other teams in the league.

Moreover, the spot of a legitimate third star is yet to be filled for the franchise. They need to pull some trades or a player from the current roster needs to elevate their game to the next level to get rid of this situation.