LeBron James just signed an $85 million, 2-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, taking him through 2023. Speculation is that he did it so he can possibly play with his son, Bronny, when his contract is up and Bronny could be eligible for the draft. They would be the first father-son duo in the league. While that sounds cool, the NBA would have to do away with their “one and done” rule which states a player has to be either 19 or have completed one year of college to enter the draft.

LeBron has been in the league now for 17 years and, as is the case, at some point, with all sports legends, time isn’t on his side. James is 35, but with the way he takes care of himself, he most likely has a handful more years in the league. The two-year extension gives him slightly more money and freedom when it’s over. With the realization that he can’t play forever, though, what team will King James be most remembered for? What team would he like to be most remembered for?

James was born in Akron, Ohio and he has been an ardent supporter of the city and its people by doing things like refurbishing parks, building recreation centers, building a new gym for his high school, giving money to the Boys and Girls club, paying for kids’ college tuition. Akron is his home and he has shown Akron his love over and over. Cleveland wasn’t very nice when he left the first time but they welcomed him with open arms when he came back. He always had the entire city’s expectation of a championship on his back – and only his back – and when he finally brought it to Cleveland, he fulfilled a promise.

The basketball world will most likely remember him for all three places in which he played. He has won a championship in all of them, he’s been the face of all three teams, he becomes the center of the universe for whatever team he is on. The Los Angeles Lakers are a storied organization with lots of super stars and championships over the years – and James will be remembered right up there with Magic and Kareem and Shaq. But, not even LeBron James can eclipse what Koby Bryant meant and continues to mean to that team and the city of Los Angeles.

LeBron is that legend, that magical hero, in Cleveland and rightly so. I’d like to think he’d want to be remembered for what he did there. He delivered a championship to a city who hadn’t had one since 1964, he brought the spotlight to Cleveland and Akron in a way he could never do for Los Angeles or Miami simply because they are already used to being in the limelight. As the journalist Debra Adams Simmons wrote of James, her son is more proud to be a kid from Akron because of LeBron. Now that is an impact worth being remembered for.

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