May 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half during game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
May 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half during game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Trevor Ariza, the former NBA champion with the Lakers, recently spoke to Ryan Ward of Sports Illustrated, in which he addressed LeBron James’ legacy with the purple and gold franchise following his move to the 76ers.
“It’s kind of unfair, because being in L.A. and being from L.A., you were spoiled with lifelong Lakers, people who’ve been there for a long time and grew with the organization, and just made their imprint on the organization in that way,”said Ariza on how the Lakers’ fans should perceive LeBron James’ legacy.
“LeBron coming to L.A. with who he is already, it kind of tainted what, I guess, Lakers fans look at as ‘Lakers for life’, but when he got here, everything changed; everything went upwards; ticket prices increased (laughs). The jersey sales probably increased. We were starting to win more. We got a championship out of it.”
“So his time here should be celebrated just like everybody else who has won the title. He’s a Laker. He’s been a Laker. I think whatever negativity he gives might be unwarranted a little bit,” he further added.
The 2009 NBA champion then went on to address the ring-chasing allegations that LeBron James is facing for joining the 76ers’ superteam at age 41. Ariza feels James deserves the leeway to decide how to close out his career however he wants.
“There was a point in time when he was going to the [NBA] Finals like every single year. So to say that he’s ring-chasing, I don’t know if that’s like a thing to say more so than he’s exercising his right to move about the country in the ways that he may see fit.”
“Again, in my career, I moved around a lot. So I got the opportunity to see a lot of different things, meet a lot of different people, and enjoy a lot of different markets as well, and just because maybe the way he’s moving around and the power that he has to move the way he wants to move, maybe it’s rubbing people the wrong way, but that’s in his right.”
“He can do whatever he wants to do. He’s worked his butt off for his whole career to be able to be in that position, and something that I think that people should appreciate,” Ariza said.
The Lakers fans often compare his loyalty to Kobe Bryant, saying he is on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to chasing rings over loyalty to a franchise. Ariza disagrees with those takes.
“They’re completely different. The system the NBA uses now is different. Contracts are shorter now. Movement is different now. You can’t really compare, although a player like Bron does have the ability to do and be wherever he wants to.”
“But he can also choose to move around the way he sees fit, too. The cities that he’s played in have been some really good cities, and he also got a chance to play in his hometown. Again, you can’t really compare it; the journeys and outcomes are different. Everything is different,” Ariza concluded.
People also tend to forget that the Lakers did not draft LeBron James and have faith in him early in his career, as they did with Kobe Bryant. So how LeBron James perceives his time with the franchise, and what he wanted to accomplish, is completely different from what Kobe Bryant did during his time.
Therefore, even if LeBron James earns a statue outside Crypto.com Arena someday, it will never match Kobe Bryant’s legacy with the franchise, which has already earned him two statues outside the iconic arena. Hence, it is unfair to compare LeBron James’ Lakers legacy to Kobe Bryant’s.