The post Lebron James era for the Los Angeles Lakers has begun. For the first time since the 2017-18 season, LeBron James won't be wearing purple and gold. The four-time NBA champion left Los Angeles this summer after eight seasons and a championship with the franchise, deciding to take his talents to the Philadelphia 76ers.
His departure left the Lakers with more than just production to replace. It created opportunities for a new influx of players tasked with helping Los Angeles begin its next era. Quentin Grimes is ready to rise to the occasion.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick recently acknowledged that Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler are expected to occupy three spots in the starting lineup, leaving two positions open for competition. Grimes is among the players hoping to claim one. We want to be competitive every day in practice.
I want to get everything I had, I want to fight for it, I want to earn it. I don’t want anything handed to me or given out to me.” It is a career-defining chance for the 26-year-old guard, mirroring the wider transformation underway across Los Angeles. For most of the previous eight seasons, nearly every Lakers roster decision was made with James as the focal point.
That approach helped produce an NBA championship in 2020 and another deep postseason run in 2023. Now, those days feel like a distant memory. James informed the Lakers in June that he planned to play elsewhere before ultimately joining Philadelphia.
The 41-year-old showed almost no signs of aging in his final season as a Laker, averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds. Rather than attempt to replace one of the greatest players in NBA history with a single acquisition, the Lakers spent the offseason reshaping the roster around Dončić. Los Angeles officially signed Grimes in July after he spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, making him the Lakers first free agent addition of their active free agency.
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