LeBron James Breaks Silence On Why He Joined Lakers

It’s been nearly a month since LeBron James made the big decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.

Until now, James hadn’t publicly discussed his free-agency decision, and the 14-time All-Star has managed to ‘stay low-key’ since July 1. He did, however, make some exceptions, such as attending a Lakers’ Summer League game in Las Vegas, as well as grassroots youth basketball games.

His first public words on the topic came Sunday via an appearance on his online platform, Uninterrupted, where opened up and said that joining the Lakers was like a dream come true.

“This is kind of like a dream come true for me,” James said. “Growing up I was a Cowboys fan, a Bulls fan, a Yankees fan, and I’ve always felt like that was one of the historic franchises. And you look at the Lakers, being able to play for an historic franchise with so much history and being able to partner with Magic Johnson, someone I looked up to when I was younger. I wanted to make no-look passes like Magic, wanted get on the break and be Showtime like Magic. And for it all to come to fruition at this point, I think timing is everything.”

.@KingJames. More than an athlete. pic.twitter.com/aZGthMCEBv

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) July 29, 2018

From a timing perspective, leaving Cleveland for L.A. was a somewhat bittersweet decision for James because this week he also opened up a new school in Akron, Ohio.

Nonetheless, James seems genuinely excited about his choice to join the Lakers and take on the next chapter of his NBA career alongside Johnson.

“For me to be in this position now, my excitement to be a Laker — I’m happy to be a part of it because I believe the Lakers is a historical franchise, we all know that, but it’s a championship franchise and that’s what we’re trying to get back to,” James said. “And I’m happy to be part of the culture and be a part of us getting back to that point.”