Can LeBron win his 4th ring in Los Angeles?
by Ahmet İlten
Whether you like him or not, his performances at Miami and Cleveland shows that LeBron James is a player who creates a dynamic atmosphere wherever he goes by inspiring young players and establishing hope. Besides being an extremely skilled player, I believe his most important skill is that he can turn an average team into a team that roots for championship.
However, in basketball, you can only go so far with one player that carries the whole team. Both in 2017 and 2018 NBA finals, Golden State Warriors crushed Cleveland Cavaliers with an all-star team. Though LeBron scored most points in both finals, it was not enough to beat a team that has 4 all-star players in its starting 5.
Losing two finals in a row, LeBron decided to move on and signed with Los Angeles Lakers, a team struggling to even qualify for the playoffs for the past few years. Los Angeles, a city that saw the era of Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, was missing that finals atmosphere in Staples Center.
The threat of LeBron moving to Lakers did not go unanswered by Warriors. By adding DeMarcus Cousins to a team that already has incredible players such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green, Warriors are now stronger than ever before.
For Lakers, on the other hand, a title in LeBron’s first year seems like a bit of a fantasy. Though they have some players with great potential such as Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, they do not play at the level to win the title yet and 33 years old Bron can’t bring it all by himself. Nevertheless, there is still hope for Los Angeles, if they can sign Kawhi Leonard or Cousins in the coming years and Ball and Kuzma starts to dominate the game, LeBron indeed can win his 4th ring in L.A.