LeBron James shook up the NBA landscape when he made the decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer as a free agent and sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. He brought Cleveland the championship that he promised and it was time to move on to new challenges.
With the Lakers, James moves to the undoubtedly more unforgiving Western Conference, where powerhouses like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets block the path to the NBA Finals. The Lakers will hope youngsters like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma can make a leap to give the team the firepower they will need to contend in the West.
Despite the challenge, James’ move to Los Angeles offers more than just a fresh start on the basketball floor. He has been getting more involved in Hollywood, and playing for the Lakers certainly won’t hurt that endeavor.
In James’ latest project, he will host a talk show set in a barbershop (Barber Surgeons Guild) that will air on HBO, according to Marisa Guthrie of The Hollywood Reporter:
LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s barbershop-set talk show The Shop is coming to HBO. The premium network has ordered a handful of episodes of the program, which first bowed in 2016 on James’ Uninterrupted digital site. The first episode for HBO was shot last week in Los Angeles at West Hollywood’s Barber Surgeons Guild, and is set to bow Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
James, who will turn 34 in December, can’t be blamed if he is setting himself up for life after basketball. He is taking the opportunity seriously as he builds his on-camera résumé:
“This show is real, it’s candid and it’s the essence of conversation,” James tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And we know with social media and text being the way people communicate, the form of conversation, actually talking, is kind of a lost art.”
That said, there is little doubt that James is as committed as ever to the game of basketball. He has already been posting workouts to social media and wowed president of basketball operations Magic Johnson when they met once free agency began with his knowledge of the young Lakers and their strengths and weaknesses.
James has brought an air of excitement back to Los Angeles and the Lakers’ arrow is undeniably pointing up again. It’s been a long and difficult rebuild in Los Angeles, but if James can help lead them back to the top of the NBA mountain it would be a crowning achievement in his already stellar career.
At that point, James could ride off into the Hollywood sunset a champion, ready to move on to his next challenge.
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