Sept. 5, 2026, 7:01 a.m. PT
LeBron James is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he made his mark on the franchise during his eight years with it. He consistently played at a high level during that time, even if certain aspects of his game had clearly slipped, and he delivered an NBA championship in 2020.
As we take a look at James’ greatest performances as a member of the Lakers in chronological order, we go back to a game that Lakers and James fans will likely want to forget about: Game 4 of the 2023 Western Conference finals.
James desperately tried to keep the Lakers alive against a superior team
When the Lakers traded Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a future first-round draft pick for D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley in February 2023, they were seemingly born again. Suddenly, they had a solid team where the pieces seemed to fit, and they finished the regular season with 18 wins in their last 26 games.
Despite being the seventh seed in the Western Conference with a 43-39 record, they shoved aside the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors in the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs. L.A. then met the Denver Nuggets in the West finals and promptly fell behind three games to none.
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
The team was clearly headed home for the summer, and it was only a matter of how many games it would take. But in Game 4, James tried to make the Nuggets wait.
He shot 11-of-13 from the field and scored 31 points in the first half. In fact, he played all but four seconds in the first half, and it may have played a factor in how he did afterward.
James cooled off and shot 3-of-6 in the third quarter, then only converted one of his six shot attempts in the fourth quarter. With four seconds remaining and the Lakers down 113-111, he had one last shot at forcing overtime, but his contested attempt fell well short of the rim, and they were done for the season.
He finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. It was an admirable effort, but it just wasn’t enough.
The Nuggets went on to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Miami Heat in five games to capture their first league championship. After publicly implying that he was considering retirement, James remained with Los Angeles for three more seasons.