A 2018 Year In Review For NBA Superstar LeBron James

While other players were fun to watch and their stories created NBA headlines, no player was more talked about than LeBron James in 2018.

July 1st in the NBA was a huge day. Hours prior to the biggest day of the summer for professional basketball, names were coming off the free agent board in quick succession. Players like Chris Paul re-upped with the Houston Rockets, as did Paul George in Oklahoma. DeAndre Jordan signed with the Mavericks, Kevin Durant re-signed with the Warriors... and that was just the beginning of things. While those were all big names, it took days for the biggest name to come off the board — LeBron James, who was rumored to either stay in Cleveland with the Cavaliers, join the Philadelphia 76ers or head to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The second James decided to take his talents to LA, things got interesting.

After the James' Decision

While slightly less dramatic than when James announced he was leaving Cleveland the first time and heading to Miami, the loss for the Cavs was no less painful in 2018. Clearly a result of the Cavs failing to put a contending team around him, James felt he'd served his time and done all he could do in his hometown. His future would now include playing basketball in the mecha of all sports cities and he would get the glitz and glamour that would come with Hollywood and the many projects he had on the go outside of the game.

The deal was for only four seasons and his coming to the Lakers wouldn't be with a player like Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, two names rumored to potentially land in LA. Instead, LeBron would be tasked with working alongside Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball - none of whom were viewed as players who would make the Lakers immediate contenders.

LeBron Gets Some Interesting Playing Partners

If James' decision to join the Lakers surprised anyone, who the Lakers chose to surround him with would have come as a real surprise over the next few days. Magic Johnson and company reached out to an interesting cast of NBA veterans including Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, and others, many of whom had a history with James.

It was clear the Lakers were not really in it to contend over the course of the 2018-19 season but potentially leave their options open come free agency in 2019 and going after big-ticket players who could join LeBron and bring a title to Los Angeles.

Side Projects, Ups and Downs

While all this was going on, LeBron was making headlines in other ways. After no-showing his first teased LA appearance at a local Blaze Pizza, LeBron had his mural in the city vandalized, opened a school for underprivileged children, got his own HBO show and it came out he might be interested in ownership with both an NBA and NFL franchise.

To say the least, he was a busy guy and some might have wondered if all the side dealings and businesses were going to affect his game on the court. Meanwhile, there were questions about his loyalty to the team, his definition of the success for the franchise in 2018 and whether or not other star players would want to join a player like him in LA.

As The Season Rolled Along

To end 2018, the Lakers were sixth in the Western Conference standings. Some would have hoped for more, while others were more realistic. And, on the road to that record, LeBron took the good and bad for the team's successes and failures.

There were questions about the minutes he would play during the season and talk he'd be the regular season MVP. The team opened the year with a terrible record and then started to put things together. Then, by December, James had gone down to a groin injury, likely sealing the fate of the season for the Lakers.

What's Next in 2019?

For now, James and the Lakers will look at the rest of 2019 as an opportunity just to be competitive. There's really no shot the team will be an integral part of the postseason but the organization will look towards the summer and plant seeds to land free agents heading into next season.

LeBron will be part of that plan and along the way have a great deal of say as to who stays with the team and who goes. No doubt, the Lakers will be made in LeBron's image and this team will win or lose based on input provided by the NBA Superstar.

Next: LeBron James Says Beating Warriors In The 2016 Finals Makes Him The GOAT