LeBron James wasn’t unanimously welcome by Los Angeles Lakers fans.
Most of them were diehard Kobe Bryant fans, so they felt like they had to choose sides once The King arrived in Southern California.
Some of them even boycotted a mural welcoming James to Laker Nation, albeit he’s done plenty of work to appease the haters.
But even those who have now become James fans have to admit that he hasn’t done nearly enough to be considered an all-time Laker.
He’s one of the greatest players to ever suit up for the organization, but what he did before donning the purple and gold should mean nothing to assess his legacy for the franchise.
However, if you were to ask Shaquille O’Neal, James should already get his statue outside of Crypto.com Arena.
When asked about it, the Big Diesel added that he had already let the team to a championship and took a shot at Tim Duncan’s shortened-season ring by stating it was ‘a bubble ring’ just like LeBron’s:
LeBron James deserves a statue in front of @cryptocom because he brought a championship to Los Angeles says @SHAQ to @BallySports.
“A lot of people say that don’t count & if you can’t count his then you can’t count Mr. Tim Duncan’s bubble championship. That’s right, I said it!” pic.twitter.com/abDy6uJzwm
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) February 19, 2023
Even if that were the case, Duncan still won four more championships and many accolades as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, so Shaq’s take makes no sense whatsoever.
James has posted MVP-caliber numbers every single season he’s been in Los Angeles, but the team has been mostly terrible, outside from that NBA title run.
That bubble ring is as valid as any ring in NBA history and shouldn’t have an asterisk next to it.
But James needs to do way more to have his jersey retired by the Lakers, let alone have a statue in front of the arena.
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