Can Lebron, Lakers deliver Hollywood ending?

James embarks on the latest and possibly final chapter of his glittering career with the basketball world watching and wondering if the greatest player of his generation can deliver a Hollywood ending.

Ever since James confirmed his blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers in July, skeptics have asked whether the 33-year-old’s move to California was motivated by basketball or his budding entertainment industry portfolio.

If James was truly determined to add more championship rings to his collection of three titles, the theory went, a more logical destination would have been Houston or Philadelphia, where his arrival might have elevated either franchise to potential super-team status.

Instead, he opted for the Lakers, mired in mediocrity after the worst five-year period in club history and failing to make the playoffs since 2013.

James and those familiar with his reasons for choosing the Lakers have dismissed the skeptics out of hand.

“My decision was based solely on my family and the Lakers,” James said.

“I’m a basketball player. I play ball, that’s what I do. That’s what I live by, and when I do it the way I do it, everything takes care of itself.”

During last season’s run to the NBA Finals, he frequently demonstrated that he remains capable of putting a team on his back, at times dragging Cleveland singlehandedly over the line as they reached the NBA Finals for a fourth consecutive year.

Whether the component parts of the Lakers roster can give him enough support to provide a credible challenge this season remains to be seen, but certainly, the oddsmakers in Las Vegas aren’t ruling it out.

Within hours of James announcing his decision to move to Los Angeles, the Lakers were installed as second favorites to win the NBA championship, with only the Golden State Warriors ahead of them.

James, meanwhile, has cautioned that the Lakers remain a work in progress.

“We’re a new ball club trying to get better. We’re all new to each other. We have to take our bumps and our bruises, there’s going to be good times and bad times. That’s what happens with a team that’s new,” he said.

“But if we continue to work the process, and sacrifice for each other and put in the work and the time everything will fall into place.”/rappler.com