There was barely any room to move around in the Lakers locker room at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. LeBron James wasn’t even at his locker, but a crowd of camera operators encircled it anyway, snapping photos and recording video of the space where a sweatshirt that said “More than an athlete” hung.
The crowd receded a few feet. When James reached his locker he shared a laugh with Joel Berry II, an undrafted rookie who sat two seats away.
The LeBron James era for the Los Angeles Lakers began 118 miles south of the team’s home arena, with Magic Johnson sitting in a courtside seat, finally getting to see his greatest accomplishment as the Lakers president of basketball operations on the court.