Chuuuch.His stans in the media has so dismissed and diminished Kobe that they don't even realize that he'll be chasing the "Ghost of Kobe" if he goes to LAL. Bron Bron don't want that kind of pressure.
And honestly, for all his faults, I think Kobe's legacy should be being the antithesis to the current reality of the NBA. Kobe literally got rid of the other superstar on his team and then scrapped and clawed to do it on his own. Yes, to varying levels of success, and there was a measure of futility to it, and it was ridiculous, but... he should always be looked at as someone who lived and died by his sword. He was someone who not only had the whole team on his back, but didn't know how to function without that being the case. Or at least, preferred not to. Whereas... ya know. As we saw this series with LeBron, and going back years with the 'LeBron needs more help' narrative... that isn't how that man is built. Which isn't to say one or the other is better inherently, but... if you willingly go to a team whose most recent transcendent superstar was someone who let Shaq dip and then went out there and, win or lose, tried to carry the whole burden of a contest on his own shoulders... well. You better be willing to follow that legacy or exist in the nice shade of that man's shadow for the rest of your career, because right now we got no proof that LeBron has that in him. To shoulder the weight of everyone around him not being willing to die on that hardwood, and still shrug and say 'well then I'll just go out there and die alone then.' And then do it.
LeBron ain't bout to go to any team where he doesn't have a chance of breaking the franchise scoring record for a single game on a night where he's playing a bad team. That's my honest belief. Because bruh is oriented on that kinda recorded history shyt and not on winning to the detriment of personal accolade. Someone who isn't ain't thinking about dropping 50+ in a loss and pulling some 'I played my part' moral victory shyt. And they damn sure ain't sitting with 4 minutes left in an elimination game in the finals.
.. He is staying in the East.
