Gilbert Arenas: LeBron James Not a True Lakers Icon; 'A Rental' for Greatness

Gilbert Arenas—the man who brought you "Get rid of all the Europeans" when asked how to improve NBA defenses, despite Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo combining to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards in the past six seasons—is at it again.

This time, Arenas said James' legacy with the Los Angeles Lakers will never compare to players like Kobe Bryant or Magic Johnson, who spent their careers with the organization.

"LeBron was a rental for the Lakers' greatness, and that's just something he's gonna have to accept," he said on the Nightcap show. "His [scoring] milestones came in this uniform... but the legacy wasn't built here."

"LeBron's Laker résumé doesn't have a statue here," he added. "LeBron James, the name—f--k yeah, has a statue."

To a degree, this is a fair point. James' two stints in Cleveland and his controversial time in Miami were more iconic than this Lakers' run. By the time he reached Los Angeles, he was already one of the greatest players to ever live. His career has unquestionably been superior to players like Magic and Kobe, but they were lifelong Lakers and all of their titles and accomplishments came in one place.

Still, it would be surprising if James wasn't ultimately remembered fondly in Lakers' lore.

He won a title with the team, exactly as many as organizational legend Jerry West. He's gone to the playoffs multiple times. He set the NBA record for points scored in purple and gold. If you don't think Lakers fans will sit at the bar in the future and remind anyone who will listen that one of the greatest players who ever lived chose to finish his career with the team, you have another thing coming.

His legacy in Los Angeles will be different than that of Johnson and Kobe, sure. But players like Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain also played elsewhere before joining the Lakers and are still considered franchise icons. Why would James be any different?