'LA Has A God And A King': Reactions After LeBron Joins Lakers

The LeBron James summer saga finally concluded Sunday night after the three-time NBA champion’s management team released a statement confirming his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Los Angeles Lakers.

The small forward opted not to exercise his player option with the Cavaliers and become an unrestricted free agent on June 29. James was coveted by a number of teams, but the Lakers were leading the race and finally won it Sunday night after reaching an agreement on a four-year deal worth $154 million.

Talk about James’ future had dominated the sport since the end of season, with as many as seven teams said to have been pursuing him. The Cavaliers were desperate to hold on to him and had even held positive talks with his management team, but it was not to be as he decided to move to the Western Conference and join one of the most iconic franchises in the NBA.

It is the second time James is leaving his hometown team with the first one coming in 2010 when he joined the Miami Heat, before returning in 2014. The Cleveland fans are likely to be more forgiving this time, as he kept his word and won them their first ever championship after coming back from 3-1 down to beat the Golden State Warriors 4-3 in 2016.

"Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons," James wrote in an Instagram story Sunday night. "This will always be home."

The 33-year-old will join an elite list of NBA legends to don the iconic yellow Lakers jersey and James’ arrival will now see six of the top eight scorers in NBA history having played for the 16-time NBA champions. The former Cavaliers star joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Koby Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal. The only two that have not played for the Lakers are Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki.

The announcement of James joining the Lakers on a four-year deal was greeted with jubilation on the west coast and has propelled the Lakers to second favorites to win the NBA championship next season. He also received warm welcomes from Lakers legend Bryant and Los Angeles’ latest import Zlatan Ibrahimovic.