In a book about LeBron James and Los Angeles LakersIt's only fitting that one memorable scene involves a Hollywood star: Will Smith.
Yaron Weitzman's latest book is called “A”. Hollywood Finals: LeBron Lakers' Dreams and Drama. Suffice it to say, the plot thickens when Smith goes to the Lakers' film room to talk to the team in 2022.
It's been six months since Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Smith was now involved in a series of celebrity talks ahead of the Lakers, an innovation introduced by general manager Rob Pelinka. According to the book, James asked Smith question after question until the scheduled half-hour visit nearly doubled in length and Lake City teammate Russell Westbrook became visibly upset and frowned in a team photo with Smith.
“You can see personal, intra-office dynamics affecting the game that you don't always think about,” Weitzman says of the scene.
He notes that those who have read the passage “seem to be cheering Westbrook” and “get hung up on the idea that it was LeBron's fault, that LeBron was a fake.” He notes that Westbrook played for the NBA teams, and in Los Angeles he was “terrible on the court, stubborn, unwilling to adjust his game.”
As for James: “He's the defining, not just basketball player… but the athlete of my generation,” Weitzman, 37, says. And, the author adds, “The LeBron-Lakers 'merger' seemed to be fertile ground for this kind of reporting and storytelling,” fueled by what Weitzman calls behind-the-scenes drama.
Weitzman is no stranger to analyzing NBA franchises. That's what he did in his previous book about the Philadelphia 76ers, Tanking to the Top. However, in the case of the Lakers, the attention was more intense. The team's location was in the entertainment epicenter of America. The legacy included championships won by stars such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, the latter two coached by the legendary Phil Jackson. (Last season, another addition to the pantheon was Luka Doncic, but we'll get to that later.) There was the role of the Buss family, especially the late longtime team owner Jerry Buss and his daughter Jeanie, who succeeded him in the leadership role. Then came what Weitzman called a “merger” between the Lakers and James, who brought with him star power as well as the increasingly powerful agency that represented him: Klutch Sports Group, run by James' friend Rich Paul.
How rare is James' status in the NBA? The book notes his estimated billion-dollar net worth while still in the NBA and his dream of one day owning a franchise. Weitzman tracks the impact of James' comments to the media, including several closely scrutinized remarks at a press conference following the Lakers' 2023 playoff exit: “Honestly, I have a lot to think about. Personally, I have a lot to think about when it comes to basketball.”
Neither James nor the team's management discussed the book with Weitzman. He filled in the gaps by reading the news 15 years ago, supplemented by watching documentaries, listening to podcasts and talking to everyone who talked to him. The list has grown to almost 300 people. As you read the book, keep an eye on the footnotes. Weitzman describes them as “as if someone were winking at the reader.”
On page 54 you will find not one, but two footnotes regarding Daenerys Targaryen. Why? Bryant is quoted as encouraging Jeanie Buss to emulate the Game of Thrones character in early 2017. That's when, according to the book, she won a George R.R. Martin-style power struggle for control of the team. The following year, James came to Los Angeles for four years and $154 million.
“The Lakers were going through a dark period,” Weitzman says. “They definitely needed LeBron. LeBron saved Jeanie Buss' legacy by going there.” He adds that unlike past stars like Magic, Kobe or Shaq, LeBron came to the Lakers as “a fully formed icon that they didn't have before.”
There were significant, if not immediate, benefits: James' championship in his second season with the 2019-20 Lakers, a season that ended amid the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. This season, a helicopter crash killed Bryant and his daughter Gianna. Coach Frank Vogel kept the team focused as it played to empty stands in the NBA bubble. It was the Lakers' 17th title, tying them with the Boston Celtics for the most in the league.
Will there be an encore? Pelinka tried to add more talent around James, and in 2021 he brought in Westbrook. However, the 2021-22 team failed to even make the playoffs to defend its title, and Vogel lost his job.
Darwin Ham succeeded Vogel as coach. James continued to shine on the court, but the team struggled with him. The book finds the perfect microcosm: February 7, 2023 James breaks NBA's all-time scoring recordpassing Abdul-Jabbar in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. James was cheered after setting the record late in the third quarter, with commissioner Adam Silver cheering him on. However, as noted in the book, the Thunder won the game. The Lakers were 25-30, in danger of missing the playoffs again.
Tell me more plot twists. The Lakers traded Westbrook and saw their fortunes skyrocket. They made the playoffs and reached the West Final, which Denver won. It was an encouraging first season for Ham, but the following season the Nuggets were again ousted by the Lakers, this time in the first round of the playoffs. The hated Celtics won the title that season, beating Los Angeles to a record 18th place finish.
After parting ways with Ham, the Lakers flirted with UConn coach Dan Hurley before he ultimately turned down Los Angeles. The Lakers signed player-turned-podcaster JJ Redick and made a unique draft decision: They selected James' son Bronny at No. 54, setting rare father and son pair. Then, earlier this year, Pelinka made a stunning move, trading Anthony Davis for Mavericks superstar Doncic, who is already one of the paths to winning the league. replacing James as the face of the Lakers.
By this point, Weitzman thought he had finished the manuscript, which originally ended with Bronny joining James on the Lakers. As they say in Hollywood, let me rewrite.
“I live in New York. The Lakers were playing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden that night,” Weitzman recalled of the Doncic trade. “I was at the game, then I was driving home and I saw the tweet – oh my God!”
The book ends in a “where are they now” style, giving readers an update on the cast. Among them: the Buss family sold its majority stake to Mark Walter, owner of the LA Dodgers, and Jeanie Buss remained as governor and retained a 15% stake.
“I’m curious to see where this goes,” Weitzman says. “Will she stay or go? I doubt she can stay at all… Usually the people who pay the money want to be in power.”
As for James?
“Playing at 40 is something unprecedented,” Weitzman marvels. “In major professional American sports, in the four major sports, Tom Brady is the only comparison. I've never seen anything like it.”
