LeBron James officially signs for the LA Lakers - how Twitter reacted
NBA star ‘King’ James arrives in the City of Angels
Los Angeles Lakers fans around the world celebrated last night after the signing of NBA superstar LeBron James was officially announced.
The franchise would not disclose the terms of his contract, but ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the former Cleveland Cavaliers forward had penned a four-year deal worth $153m (£115.5m).
The signing of ‘King’ James, a three-time NBA champion and four-time NBA most valuable player (MVP), is a “special” moment, says Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a statement, basketball legend Johnson said: “Today is a great day for the Lakers organisation. LeBron is special. He is the best player in the world. He loves to compete and is an awesome leader who is about winning and making sure that his teammates are successful.
“The Lakers players are excited to have a teammate who has been to nine NBA Finals. It’s a huge step closer to returning the Lakers to the play-offs and to the NBA Finals.”
The King’s NBA career
- First player in NBA history to accumulate at least 30,000 career points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists
- Three-time NBA champion
- Four-time NBA MVP
- 23: his shirt number
- 15 years in the NBA
- 1,143 career regular season games for Cleveland and Miami
- Averages 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game
- Seventh in total points scored (31,038)
- 11th in all-time assists (8,208)
- 16th in career steals (1,865)
How Twitter reacted to the official announcement
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why is Labour struggling to grow the economy
Today's Big Question Britain's economy neared stagnation in the third quarter of the year
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Best of frenemies: the famous faces back-pedalling and grovelling to win round Donald Trump
The Explainer Politicians who previously criticised the president-elect are in an awkward position
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 9 - 15 November
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World Series
Speed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
LeBron, Bronny James make dad-son NBA debut
Speed Read Basketball star LeBron James and his son LeBron Jr. made history by playing together in the Lakers' preseason game
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
South Sudan's basketball stars
Under the Radar Men's national team qualified for Olympics against the odds and are now inspiring a new generation of players
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Boston Celtics win record 18th NBA title
Speed Read In the NBA Finals, the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can Caitlin Clark continue her success in the WNBA?
Today's Big Question Early struggles, but higher ratings for the league
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The economics of taxpayer-subsidized stadiums
In Depth Shiny new stadiums can end up costing taxpayers billions
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is legalized betting hurting sports?
Today's Big Question A 'building avalanche of gambling scandals' threatens competition
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published