LeBron James’ decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers is officially marked with The Black Mamba’s seal of approval.
Within an hour of news breaking on Sunday that James was signing with the Lakers on a four-year deal, Kobe Bryant offered his reaction in an apparent text to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. The text read “I LOVE IT” in all caps.
Kobe Bryant will have a lot to say about LeBron in due time. For now, he says in all caps, “I LOVE IT.”
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 2, 2018
He would then go on to send this tweet about James’ arrival:
Welcome to the family @KingJames #lakers4life #striveforgreatness @JeanieBuss @MagicJohnson and RP well done!!!
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) July 2, 2018
Being the Lakers’ last superstar and arguably their greatest player ever, Bryant may have conflicted feelings about passing the torch to James, who was one of his biggest rivals during his NBA career. However, the retired 18-time All-Star might not mind if James is able to return the Lakers to their perch atop the NBA after several consecutive years of futility.
Bryant has explained in the past why comparisons to James and Michael Jordan do not matter to him, so he should be able to sit back and enjoy the show as The King takes court at his old stomping grounds.
