NBA Writer Explains Why Lakers Fans Don't Connect With LeBron

The Los Angeles Lakers fans expect excellence. That's what happens when your team basically wins at least one championship in every decade since the NBA began. With that, winning comes pride and a whole lot of expectations. 

That pride and those expectations may be part of the reason that LeBron James, the Lakers' superstar for the last eight seasons, has never really captured the heart of Los Angeles fans. 

NBA writer Yaron Weitzman recently spoke about this disconnect in an interview about his Lakers book. 

"I think his relationship with LA is fascinating, and I wanna say age poorly. It's just gonna be weird when we look back in 20 years that we're not gonna know what to do with LeBron's time in LA because the fanbase did not embrace him and has not fully embraced him. And his one highlight, and it's certainly the top highlight, took place in a literal bubble with no fans there, so you don't get to form emotional connections. These are the things that fandom is built on. There's no parade. Things like that matter. It sounds dumb and cliché, but it matters. And that won't exist for this generation of Lakers fans. You mix that with the fact that he's been there eight years and they have the one title, but you feel like it should have been more. Like if I told you in 2018, and you're going to get eight mostly healthy seasons from LeBron. I think Lakers fans would have expected more than one."

When it is laid out like this, it makes a ton of sense. 

Weitzman doesn’t even bring up the fact that Lakers fans' commitment and love for Kobe Bryant also contribute to their lack of love for LeBron. That, of course, is a huge factor as well. With the addition of Luka Dončić, LeBron’s legacy as a Laker has a chance to diminish even more. Luka is already the franchise star of the future, and LeBron is slowly fading into old age in his shadow. If Luka can get the Lakers another championship once LeBron is gone, LeBron’s bubble championship will lose even more meaning.