After famously predicting that the Los Angeles Lakers would draft his eldest son, Lonzo, LaVar Ball also foretold that LeBron James would join him in Purple and Gold when his contract was due in 2018.

James signed a three-year extension with the Cavs after leading them to the 2016 NBA title. The third year of that deal was a player option and as early as the 2017 offseason, there were talks that King James could be opting out to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Let me tell you this: it would be a great fit and LeBron is coming to L.A. What’s in Cleveland? You want to be a superstar, man. Superstar franchise,” said LaVar when asked about the rumors linking LeBron to the Lakers.

The Warriors dethroned the Cavs in 2017 and weren’t going anywhere

LeBron’s Cavs were dethroned by the Warriors team that they beat in the 2016 NBA Finals. James engineered the most stunning NBA Finals comeback ever when his team rallied from a 1-3 series deficit against the best regular season team in the history of the NBA to win the 2016 NBA championship.

But their reign was short-lived because that summer, Kevin Durant joined the Warriors. LeBron’s Cavs made it back to the 2017 NBA Finals. However, with the 73-9 Warriors boosted by prime KD, the Dubs easily dethroned the defending champions 4-1 to win the 2017 NBA title.

With the Splash Brothers, KD and Draymond still at their peak, the Dubs weren’t going anywhere. That made LeBron think twice and even think about forming another Super Team with his banana boat buddies, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. That talk was shut down. Then came the Lakers rumors. LaVar made his pitch.

“It’s going to be like this, and I’m talking about reality,” he predicted. “He’s going to say, ‘You know what? I went to Miami. Won a championship. Brought one back to my hometown. I’m the only one to go to three different places and bring a championship.'”

LaVar said LeBron would love Lonzo

Meanwhile, when LaVar made his LeBron prediction, his son had yet to play a single game for the Lakers. Still, he was confident – as he always was, that there would be no issue if LeBron joined Lonzo. In fact, he said James would be thrilled to his son as a teammate.

“You do not give Lonzo Ball the best player in the game and don’t think they going to win. He is going to fall in love with Lonzo so much on the way that he plays. They both understand the game. Best player in the game and you don’t think he coming? Stop it,” he stated.

LeBron signed with the Lakers in July 2018. The Lake Show opened the season with a 20-14 record and looked like they were going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13.

Unfortunately, injuries to LeBron, Lonzo, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Ingram saw the Lakers miss the playoffs with a disappointing 37-45 record. They never got a chance to run it back, as the following summer, Lonzo was part of the trade that brought Anthony Davis to L.A. The Lakers won the championship that year in the Orlando Bubble.

This story was originally reported by on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.