LeBron James’ tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers has officially come to an end as he announced his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, which will be the fourth and final team of his illustrious career.

James spent eight seasons with the Lakers, the longest consecutive time he has spent with one team in his career. His stint with the purple and gold was certainly filled with ups and downs, but he ultimately helped restore the franchise to greatness by joining them during their roughest stretch and immediately winning a championship in his second season in 2019-20.

While a member of the Lakers, James also achieved countless accolades and milestones, adding to his legacy both in L.A. and across his entire career.

Now that his time with the Lakers has come to an end, our staff ranked James’ top 10 moments with the team.

LeBron James top 10 Lakers moments

10. Winning inaugural NBA Cup

When the NBA introduced the In-Season Tournament in 2023, people were skeptical about how serious players and fans would take it. James and the Lakers immediately legitimized it by winning the first one in Las Vegas though, defeating the Indiana Pacers.

James had 24 points in the championship game and was named MVP of the tournament. The Lakers eventually rose a banner to celebrate being the inaugural NBA Cup winners.

9. First to reach 40,000 points

In March of 2024, James became the first player in NBA history to reach the 40,000 career point milestone. Unfortunately, it came in a losing effort to the Denver Nuggets, similar to a lot of James’ other achievements with the team, but it’s still a milestone that will be tough for any other player to reach.

Going into the 2026-27 season, James has over 43,000 points and will keep adding to his record.

8. 56 points against Warriors

James’ highest-scoring game in a Lakers uniform came against the Golden State Warriors when he dropped 56 in a win on March 5, 2022. He had everything working that night, making 19-of-31 field goal attempts, 6-of-11 from deep and 12-of-13 from the free throw line to go along with 10 rebounds and three assists.

He did that against a Warriors team that ended up winning the championship a few months later.

7. First points as a Laker

James’ Lakers debut was highly-anticipated after he decided to join the team in the summer of 2018. His first game came in Portland against the Trail Blazers, and his first points came on a breakaway dunk to get the crowd on their feet.

That wound up being the first of 12,402 points in a Lakers uniform for James.

6. Too strong for Dillon Brooks

James’ biggest rival during his time with the Lakers unquestionably was Dillon Brooks, who first played with the Memphis Grizzlies and then the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.

Brooks and James have had plenty of battles over the years, but the Lakers star got his number in the first-round of the 2023 playoffs.

After advancing through the Play-In Tournament, the Lakers were not expected to upset the young, up-and-coming Grizzlies in the first round. Not only did they do that and make a run to the Western Conference Finals, but they embarrassed Brooks and the Grizzlies along the way.

The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies in six games and the biggest swing came in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena. With the Lakers up three in the final minute of overtime, James went right at Brooks and finished through contact for a three-point play to earn the win. L.A. then won by 40 in Game 6 to close out the series.

5. Leading charge after Kobe Bryant’s death

James passed Kobe Bryant on the all-time scoring list during a loss to the 76ers on Jan. 25, 2020.

Unfortunately, less than 24 hours later, the Lakers legend was tragically killed along with his daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash. That left the Lakers fanbase in a bad place as it is no secret how much Bryant means to everyone in L.A.

In a time of need though, James took charge and gave an exceptional speech before the team’s next game against the Portland Trail Blazers. While Bryant’s death and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hitting crushed the spirits of a lot of people, James earned his stripes as a Laker by leading the organization and community through a difficult time.

4. Sharing court with Bronny James

If you ask James, his greatest accomplish as a Laker and in the NBA in general would be sharing the court with his son Bronny.

It wasn’t a sure thing that Bronny would make the NBA after suffering from cardiac arrest in 2023 during his time at USC. The Lakers selected him with the 56th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft though, and he and LeBron eventually became the first father-son duo to team up in the NBA.

While Bronny had a lot of developing to do, and still does, he has worked extremely hard over the last couple of years to prove he belongs in the NBA. That culminated with him getting postseason minutes for the Lakers this past year when the team was shorthanded. He and LeBron even combined for a 10-0 run in the second quarter to lead a Game 3 victory over the Houston Rockets, which had to have been extra special for the James family to watch.

3. Play-In game-winner vs. Warriors

James hit a lot of big shots as a member of the Lakers, but arguably the biggest came in the 2021 Play-In Tournament. James had renewed his rivalry with the Warriors after squaring off with them in four consecutive NBA Finals when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-18.

With the game tied at 100 in the final minute, James hit a deep triple that wound up being the game-winner. And he did that despite just being hit in the face by Draymond Green, causing him to momentarily lose vision.

Even though the Lakers didn’t win the championship that season, James is leaving knowing he never lost to the Warriors in a postseason setting while wearing purple and gold.

2. Breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record

No one in NBA history has scored more points than James, and that became the case on Feb. 7, 2023.

Late in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena, James hit a fadeaway jumper from the free throw line to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points in NBA history.

Abdul-Jabbar was in attendance and handled everything with class, congratulating James and giving him the game ball to celebrate.

As things currently stand, the top four scorers in NBA history (James, Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Bryant) have all been Lakers at some point.

1. Winning 2020 championship and Finals MVP

Anyone who roots for the Lakers knows the sole goal of the franchise is to win championships. And James helped accomplish that in the 2019-20 season, his second in the organization.

The Lakers were clearly the best team in the West all throughout the regular season, but their momentum was halted first with the death of Bryant and then with the pandemic.

After the league took a few months off, James and the Lakers went to the Orlando Bubble with one goal in mind and achieved that by bringing home the title. They cruised their way through the West playoffs and then defeated the Miami Heat in six games in the NBA Finals with James taking home MVP honors.

While James would obviously have loved to win more championships during his eight-year stint, he was at least able to bring the Lakers their 17th championship during a very difficult time in the community.