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NBA·HIGHLIGHT·July 3, 2026 01:37 PM ET

LeBron James' Lakers tenure bookended by dunks as his Los Angeles chapter closes

LeBron's Lakers run opens and ends on a dunk.

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated Jul 31 min read
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LeBron James' first and last buckets with the Lakers were both dunks 😤 https://t.co/Kg2tkgXPBL

What happened: LeBron James' first made basket in a Lakers uniform and his last were both dunks, a tidy piece of symmetry that is resurfacing as his time in Los Angeles comes to an end. The bookend frames a tenure that spanned a championship run and multiple deep playoff pushes.

Why it matters: The detail lands with added weight now that James is closing his chapter in Los Angeles, turning a small statistical quirk into a fitting punctuation mark on his Lakers era. How the franchise moves forward without him reshapes its outlook heading into the 2026-27 season.

What to watch: Attention shifts to where James continues his career and how the Lakers restructure their roster around his departure.

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