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

The Lakers owner has come out and revealed how the team and fans leaned on LeBron James after the death of Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles are world champions after taking down the Miami Heat in only 6 games. They easily looked like one of the best teams in the entire leagues from start to finish. But this year was tough.

Obviously, with the COVID situation, it was hard for everyone as it was such a different feel inside the NBA bubble. But for the Lakers, they were already struggling with something else. They also had to deal with the death of Kobe Bryant. LeBron talked about how hard this was for him.

“Of course, you think there’s going to be time for us to get together and I understand that there are regrets in life, but I definitely wish I had that moment with him,” James told Yahoo Sports. “I do remember when I decided to come here, he sent me a text right away and said, ‘Welcome, brother. Welcome to the family.’ That was a special moment because at the time, Laker faithful wasn’t [fully in on me]. A lot of people were saying, ‘Well, we might not want LeBron at this point in his career,’ and, ‘Is he right? Is he going to get us back [to the Finals]?’ So to hear from him and get his stamp of approval, it meant a lot. I don’t ever question myself, but when it’s coming from Kobe, it definitely meant a lot.”

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

But it took a strong presence to lead the entire team and fanbase after this. And apparently, LeBron was that man. Take a look at what Jeanie Bus said about this recently.

“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.”

Well, would we expect anything less?