Podcast: Lakers fans can look up to LeBron James off the court as much as on it

On Locked on Lakers, we’ve analyzed LeBron James’ basketball fit in L.A. all summer long. Turns out adding one of the greatest players in the history of basketball to the team is a good thing.

What hasn’t been discussed nearly enough on the show is what he’s done off the court to warrant the praise he consistently receives. So, to do that, I brought on Silver Screen and Roll’s own Sabreena Merchant to talk about the great article she wrote on the topic.

Basically, if he only thing you can think of to hold against James is “The Decision,” and you’re really rolling with that as a reason to dislike the guy, you’re reaching, eight years later.

Given the amount of coverage on athletes we are privy to nowadays, it can feel like looking up to the pros beyond what they do on the court or field they play on is a great way to be disappointed. It’s pretty cool that one of the NBA’s absolute best is working to directly refute that narrative.

We then turn our attention to the roster James plays on. How does Sabreena feel about the veteran additions made to the team this summer? How badly does it suck that Julius Randle is no longer on the team? How well does everything seem to fit? This is all covered in the second segment of the show.

In the penultimate segment, we talk about the gamble the Lakers are making on their young core fitting with LeBron and being ready to contribute to a team with playoff expectations. Of all the young guys on the team, it’s interesting that the guy who probably fits best with LeBron (Lonzo Ball) isn’t the team’s most talented young player — that’s Brandon Ingram.

We wrap up the show by updating the goings on with the Los Angeles Sparks, whom Sabreena jinxes on an almost nightly basis is enjoying watching.

As always, this is just a tidbit of the full context given in the show. Listen to the full discussion below and please check out old episodes or guarantee you won’t miss any ever again by subscribing on iTunes.