LeBron James has petty rift with Lakers because even he can overstay his welcome

USA Today

20 hours ago

LeBron James is one of the two greatest NBA players of all time. Honestly, depending on the day, I could be convinced he's the best we've ever seen. But even all-timers can overstay their welcome. Just like the house guest who wants to start watching a three-hour movie right after a four-hour dinner party, even legends don't know when to take the unsubtle hint that it's time to leave.
That's exactly what's happening as James, once again (groans), jostles for power with the Los Angeles Lakers.
This beef started when James' agent, Rich Paul, released a passive-aggressive statement concerning his future with the purple and gold. Speaking for James, Paul called out the Lakers for not pulling out all the stops to win a championship as soon as possible, as the 40-year-old gets set to start his 23rd NBA season. At the same time, Paul acknowledged the elephant in the room about the Lakers now having Luka Dončić, a 26-year-old top-five player, and the "difficulty" in winning now, while simultaneously laying down the foundation for the Dončić era.
The implication was that James expected the Lakers to still prioritize him. Yes, even though they've pivoted to clearing their decks to find a younger, long-term running mate for Dončić. After James exercised a player option worth over $52 million for this upcoming season, it's obvious that the Lakers are waiting for the aging superstar's monster contract to come off their books, which is set to happen next spring.
The Lakers' future plans for James, or lack thereof, were more or less confirmed in a story from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst. That same story laid out how the Lakers have been strategically cutting James out ever since they stunned the NBA world by trading for Dončić:
"The Lakers had already made their statement in not offering James a contract beyond this season. It was abundantly clear that the 21-time All-Star's time as the face of the Lakers had, for the first time, a planned end date, even if James' record-setting NBA career did not yet.
Whether the 2025-26 season is to be James' final season in the NBA is up to him. But if he wanted the kind of Hollywood ending that only the Lakers can give legends of the game, the release date was set.
Spring 2026.
Luka Dončić in, LeBron James out.
The Lakers would of course celebrate him the way they did Kobe Bryant on his retirement tour back in 2016, if that's what James ultimately decided."
That part about the 2025-2026 season potentially being James' last is what's stuck with me over the past few days. Despite James' (functional) status as a billionaire, the NBA's all-time scoring leader, and a multi-time league champion and Olympic gold medalist who has accomplished everything, he has yet to outline any plans for retirement in the way you would expect of a 40-year-old who has spent more than half their life playing professional basketball.
But here, in a major national story that is clearly rife with information from Lakers sources, James is given an ultimatum about leaning into a spectacle-filled, season-long farewell tour that only the NBA's signature franchise could throw him, or ... to walk away.
The Lakers are leaving nothing else on the table because they are done with him.
From a certain point of view, I understand why James is upset about the Lakers casting him off like a toy they're done playing with. He remains an All-NBA-caliber player. Even at his older age, he does seemingly have a lot of good basketball left in the tank. Not to mention his status as the most iconic player of the 21st century. It's nitpicky, but he probably deserves more respect from the Lakers as they launch their Dončić plans. That's why the idea of the Lakers trading him now has always felt more like meaningless speculation along these lines rather than something he wanted.
But, on some level, James only has himself to blame here.
Like Tom Brady and so many other great athletes before him, I cannot fathom why he's still chugging along in the NBA. James might say he wants ring No. 5, but in my experience, people like him don't want to walk away mainly because they think they'd be bored. Plain and simple. They don't want to face down a "normal" life without the structure of training, dieting, traveling, and playing for over half the year. They're afraid of actually confronting the next phase of their existence after spending so much time crafting a meticulous image of themselves as revered professional athletes.
James will likely never admit it in public, but I have a solid hunch he's no different. And as he tries to win another aimless tug of war with the Lakers after they were gifted a golden goose, it's not hard to see why they're tired of his act.
The party's over, man. Gather up your stuff because it's time to go home.
Rickea Jackson has found her Spark
So far, it's been a tough season for the Los Angeles Sparks.
Entering the 2025 campaign, the Sparks expected to be relevant after adding Kelsey Plum to support perennial All-Star Dearica Hamby. Instead, they're mired near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Woof.
But all is not lost. Bright spots like second-year forward Rickea Jackson should give the Sparks something to look forward to in the future. Our Meg Hall talked to the Detroit native in an awesome interview where she outlined her fashion sense, where she still wants to improve her game, and more:
"You can be multiple things. ... You don't have to just be placed in a box. You don't have to go with what's the norm. You can be different. You can set trends. You can be the first of something. I feel like that's what my look truly gave.I feel like it gave 'Detroit Princess' on the orange carpet, and then at the draft, it gave WNBA Draft. I definitely just wanted to tend to, you know, where I grew up, but also where I am now. I feel like it's just both of those in one."
The "Detroit Princess," huh? We LOVE a rising player who champions their hometown with flash.
Read even more on Jackson here, courtesy of For The Win's Meg Hall.
Shootaround
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