Former Los Angeles Lakers player Derek Fisher believes LeBron James did not receive the same level of adoration from the franchise's fanbase as other Lakers legends. Fisher suggested that fans' reactions to James' departure were "a little much" and that expectations for his tenure may have been unrealistic.
"It’s hard to tell fans exactly what they should or shouldn’t do," Fisher told the California Post. "I just think the celebration of his departure is a little bit much. I don’t know what the expectations were, short of winning multiple championships, which no NBA team has done since 2018 basically other than the Warriors."
James joined the Lakers in 2018 as a free agent. He led the team to their first NBA championship in a decade in 2020, his second season with the franchise. After eight seasons, his longest tenure with any team, James decided to leave the Lakers earlier this month. Fisher found the fan reaction, which he described as "celebrating," unexpected.
"I don’t know what he was supposed to fulfill that he didn’t fulfill," Fisher stated. "He took us to the playoffs [six] seasons, an NBA title, a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, the relevance, national television. The brand didn’t suffer. The Lakers are still world famous for great reasons. So, that part is a little confusing to me."
Fisher posited that a perceived disconnect between James and Lakers fans stems from comparisons to franchise icons like Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson, both of whom won five championships with the Lakers and spent their entire careers with the team. James, who arrived at age 33 after winning championships with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, had a different career trajectory.
"He’s not supposed to be compared to Kobe. He’s not supposed to be compared to Magic," Fisher explained. "Those are very different guys that started their careers here and ended their careers here. It’s apples to oranges as far as that part goes. I just think that considering where the organization was when he arrived, I just think we should be more appreciative."
Fisher suggested that things shifted for James after the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in February 2025, making Doncic the team's new priority. When asked about the organization's treatment of James, Fisher expressed uncertainty.
"I’m not sure," Fisher said. "We don’t know whether he actually was actually frustrated by anything or, you know, [he thought] I’ve been here eight seasons, it’s been a great run. There’s now a new franchise player here the team wants to build around, so I’m going to go do something else. We don’t have to attach any other narratives or reasons to it. … I don’t necessarily think it was this negative falling out kind of thing. I just think sometimes your time is up and you can move on."
James, an unrestricted free agent, is reportedly considering several teams for his next season, including Cleveland, Miami, Golden State, Philadelphia, and Minnesota. Personally, Fisher hopes to see James join the Golden State Warriors.
"Personally as a basketball fan, I want to see him and Steph [Curry] play basketball together for a whole season [on the Warriors]," Fisher said. "I just want to see it. I don’t know if it’s even possible. But I just think they’d both enjoy what they’d create and do for each other. And then I think with Draymond [Green] and Al Horford, they’d just have a team for the guys that just drink wine and have fun. Whether they win 60 games, 40 games, who cares. I think it would just be a fun basketball team to watch."