Every Team LeBron Left Fell Apart. Except This One?

LeBron James has left a team three times. Cleveland went from 61 wins to 19, Miami from 54 to 37, Cleveland again from 50 to 19. This summer he left the Lakers, and the Lakers are 2-0. So I checked every time a superstar has walked out on a team since the 1950s, 53 departures, to see how unusual LeBron really is, and why this time might be different. In this video we use Basketball-Reference franchise and player pages plus NBA.com/stats game logs to measure what a star's exit costs the team he leaves. • What the average superstar exit costs: -9 wins, and 72% of teams get worse • Why LeBron owns the #1 and #3 biggest drops of all 53 departures • 2010 Cleveland: 61-21 to 19-63, a 26-game losing streak and a 55-point loss • 2014 Miami: the "soft landing" that still ranks 13th of 53 • 2018 Cleveland: 50-32 to 19-63 again, an 0-6 start and a fired coach • The one number that explains it: LeBron produced about 30% of his teams' wins (Win Shares) • Why the 2026 Lakers are different: LeBron was 10% of the team, and the Lakers went 14-8 without him last season • My take on the Lakers and the Sixers, and my call for this season Method: players with 3+ All-Star selections (236). A "star exit" = a season where the player was an All-Star AND made an All-NBA team or finished top 10 in MVP voting, played the whole season for one team, and started the next season with a different team (franchise relocations excluded). Change = (next season's win % - this season's win %) x 82 games. Retirements and injuries are listed separately. 2026-27 results are through October 24, 2026. CHAPTERS 0:00 Every time LeBron left 0:36 The LeBron crater 1:26 The test: 53 superstar exits 2:56 2010: The crater 4:06 2014: The soft landing 5:03 2018: The second crater 6:01 Why LeBron leaves craters 7:17 The Lakers are different 9:40 My call SOURCES Franchise seasons (W-L, Win Shares leaders) and player seasons (All-Star, All-NBA, MVP voting, Win Shares): Basketball-Reference, collected Oct. 22-23, 2026: basketball-reference.com/teams/ · basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA-allstar-selections.html Game logs 2009-10, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2025-26 and 2026-27: NBA.com/stats (League Game Log): nba.com/stats Kenny Atkinson on LeBron choosing Philadelphia: Yahoo Sports, NDTV Sports, Oct. 23, 2026 Footage: NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN, Associated Press, Inside the NBA. Charts and analysis: original. Music: original score. #NBA #LeBronJames #Lakers