Rob Pelinka Breaks Silence On LeBron James' Departure From Lakers In A Surprising Move To Sixers
Rob Pelinka addressed LeBron James' exit from the Lakers for the first time on Thursday, thanking him for the eight-year run that included a 2020 championship while making clear the franchise has moved on with Luka Doncic.
LeBron James wore the purple and gold for eight seasons, and that run ended this summer. Thursday, Rob Pelinka finally spoke about it publicly, opening a Lakers press conference with a nod to James before shifting the focus to what's ahead. Pelinka kept it short. Gratitude for the years James gave the franchise, then straight into a team already built around someone else. But the way he framed it, and how it stacks up against James' own farewell to Los Angeles, says a lot about how this actually ended.
Rob Pelinka Comments On LeBron James' Departure For The First Time
Rob Pelinka opened Thursday's press conference, sitting next to head coach JJ Redick, and got the LeBron James question out of the way early so the rest of the session could stay on the current team.
"I thought it would be appropriate to express gratitude for the LeBron era here," Pelinka said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
Pelinka told reporters the back-and-forth between the front office and James' camp had stayed professional the whole way through, and he used the word amicable to describe how the two sides actually parted. It was professional.
The numbers behind that gratitude are hard to argue with. A title in 2020, six trips to the playoffs, two conference finals. Across 479 regular season games in a Lakers uniform, James put up 25.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.9 assists a night. Eight years is a long time to lead a franchise.
LeBron James Settles Into Philadelphia While The Lakers Schedule Looms
James wasn't sitting around waiting to see what the Lakers would say about him. The moment free agency opened on June 30, his agent Rich Paul told ESPN he was heading elsewhere, and not long after, James signed a two-year contract with the 76ers. He's now sharing a locker room with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe.
Before any of that played out, the Lakers had posted a farewell message thanking him for the 2020 ring, and James answered it on X with more warmth than a lot of exits get: "No, THANK YOU! Truly a honor to wear the purple and gold while trying to continue the greatness and legacies that came before me. Hope I made a few proud during my stint." (@KingJames)
Neither side gets much time to miss the other. James is back at Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day, a game that was circled the moment the schedule dropped, and the Lakers head to Philadelphia's Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 4, 2027, for the rematch. Two games, both loaded with more meaning than a regular Tuesday in February, because this breakup is still fresh enough that neither fan base has fully processed it yet.