Former Laker Derek Fisher believes LeBron James wasn’t as beloved by the franchise’s fans as he should’ve been.
“It’s hard to tell fans exactly what they should or shouldn’t do,” Fisher told the California Post. “I just think the celebration of his departure is a little bit much. I don’t know what the expectations were, short of winning multiple championships, which no NBA team has done since 2018 basically other than the Warriors.”
James joined the Lakers as a free agent in 2018 after winning two championships with the Heat (2012 and 2013) and one with the Cavaliers (2016). He helped dig the Lakers out of their lowest point in franchise history after they missed the playoffs six straight seasons, leading them to their first championship in a decade in 2020 in just his second season with the team.
When the 41-year-old James decided to leave the Lakers earlier this month after eight seasons, his longest consecutive stretch with any franchise over his 23-season career, Fisher was taken aback by the reaction from Lakers fans, which he deemed as “celebrating.”
“I don’t know what he was supposed to fulfill that he didn’t fulfill,” Fisher told The Post. “He took us to the playoffs [six] seasons, an NBA title, a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, the relevance, national television. The brand didn’t suffer. The Lakers are still world famous for great reasons. So, that part is a little confusing to me.”
As for why there’s an apparent disconnect between James and Laker fans?
Fisher believes it’s because the superstar is being unfairly compared to franchise legends, such as Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson, who each won five championships with the Lakers and spent their entire careers (20 seasons and 13 seasons, respectively) with the team.
James never belonged to the Lakers in the same way.
He didn’t grow up in the organization. He spent the first 15 seasons of his career in the Eastern Conference. He was already considered one of the greatest players of all-time when he joined the Lakers at age 33.
“He’s not supposed to be compared to Kobe,” Fisher told The Post. “He’s not supposed to be compared to Magic. Those are very different guys that started their careers here and ended their careers here. It’s apples to oranges as far as that part goes. I just think that considering where the organization was when he arrived, I just think we should be more appreciative.”
Things began shifting for James after the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in a blockbuster trade in February 2025. Doncic immediately became the Lakers’ top priority.
When asked whether Fisher believes the Lakers’ organization treated James with the respect he deserves, he shrugged.
“I’m not sure,” Fisher told The Post. “We don’t know whether he actually was actually frustrated by anything or, you know, [he thought] I’ve been here eight seasons, it’s been a great run. There’s now a new franchise player here the team wants to build around, so I’m going to go do something else. We don’t have to attach any other narratives or reasons to it.
“…I don’t necessarily think it was this negative falling out kind of thing. I just think sometimes your time is up and you can move on.”
James, who’s an unrestricted free agent, is still deciding where he’s going to play next season, but the frontrunners are Cleveland, Miami, Golden State, Philadelphia and Minnesota.
Fisher didn’t hesitate when asked where he hopes James chooses.
“Personally as a basketball fan, I want to see him and Steph [Curry] play basketball together for a whole season [on the Warriors],” Fisher told The Post. “I just want to see it. I don’t know if it’s even possible. But I just think they’d both enjoy what they’d create and do for each other. And then I think with Draymond [Green] and Al Horford, they’d just have a team for the guys that just drink wine and have fun.
“Whether they win 60 games, 40 games, who cares. I think it would just be a fun basketball team to watch.”
