Hollywood delight as ‘King James’ seals deal to Lakers
LOS ANGELES: Hol lywood rol led out the red carpet for LeBron James on Sunday as the basketball superstar confirmed his blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tinseltown celebrities and Lakers legends expressed delight at news of the deal while NBA rivals digested a move that sent the odds on a Los Angeles revival next season tumbling.
Lakers icon Kobe Bryant was among the first to congratulate James on his four- year, 154 million deal.
“Welcome to the f amily úKingJames,” Bryant wrote on Twit ter. “ü l aker s 4 l i fe üstriveforgreatness”
The Lakers have not made the NBA playoffs for five straight years, the longest streak of futility in franchise history.
But Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, the six-time NBA champion who was part of the Lakers dynasty through the 1980s, expressed hope that James’s arrival signaled a change in fortunes.
“I am sure the Lakernation is rejoicing,” Abdul- Jabbar wrote on Twitter. “The acquisition of LeBron James means that the Lakers are just a smidgen away from being real contenders.”
That belief appeared to be shared by Las Vegas oddsmakers, who rapidly installed the Lakers as contenders for next season’s NBA crown.
The odds on the Lakers lifting the NBA title in James’ first season fell to 7-2 on Sunday on the Westgate SuperBook following a flurry of betting.
Only the reigning champion Golden State Warriors are ahead of the Lakers in the betting.
Rival NBA players appeared to have been shocked by the move. “Damn,” was the one-word verdict of Golden State’s Nick Young.
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe meanwhile added: “Didn’t see that one coming.”
ESPN analyst Adrian Wojnarowski said James’ move represented a “seismic shift in the league” which sees him follow in the footsteps of Lakers icons such as Abdul- Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal.
“They all went from the East to the West and all found their way to LA,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “In a lot of ways it’s the logical next step, maybe the final step, for LeBron James.”
Enter tainment indus t ry luminaries, fellow athletes and public figures were also ecstatic.
“LeBron welcome to Los Angeles,” former action hero and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared on Twitter in a video message. — AFP