It’s official. LeBron is a Laker.

The Los Angeles Lakers announced the signing of LeBron James as a free agent Monday night Rigoberto Sanchez Jersey , confirming the seismic shift created by the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player’s decision to leave Cleveland for the 16-time champion franchise on the West Coast.

James’ representatives at Klutch Sports Group tweeted a photo of James signing his contract with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. James’ agency already announced last week that the superstar had agreed to a four-year deal worth $153.3 million with Los Angeles.

The Lakers have missed the playoffs in a franchise-record five consecutive seasons, while James has played in the past eight NBA Finals with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning three titles.

The 33-year-old budding entertainment mogul immediately becomes the focus of the Lakers franchise and a possible foundation for the NBA’s next superteam, depending on whether James and the Lakers can persuade more superstars to join him in the next year or two.

Magic Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, called James ”the best player in the world” in a news release.

”He loves to compete and is an awesome leader who is about winning and making sure that his teammates are successful,” Johnson said. ”The Lakers players are excited to have a teammate who has been to nine NBA Finals. It’s a huge step closer to returning the Lakers to the playoffs and to the NBA Finals.”

James is coming off one of his greatest NBA seasons, playing in all 82 regular-season games for the Cavaliers while finishing third in the NBA with 27.5 points per game and hitting career highs with 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists. He then carried Cleveland to its fourth consecutive NBA Finals, where the Cavs were swept by Golden State.

”This is a historic moment for the Lakers, and we could not feel more grateful and honored,” Pelinka said. ”When LeBron James – a perennial NBA MVP and champion who is playing at the most astonishing levels of his career – chooses to join the Lakers J.J. Jansen Jersey , it serves as the ultimate validation for what we are building here. However, we all know that the work is not yet done.”

James’ arrival is indeed validation for Johnson and Pelinka, who took over the Lakers’ front office in February 2017 with a specific plan to rebuild the franchise by persuading established superstars to join as free agents.

The Lakers already have begun assembling a revamped team around James by acquiring Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee and Lance Stephenson in free agency while retaining guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Los Angeles also assembled a reasonably talented young core before James’ arrival with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart.

But they didn’t even get a meeting with star scorer Paul George before the Southern California native re-signed with Oklahoma City, and their efforts to acquire disgruntled two-way superstar Kawhi Leonard from San Antonio haven’t borne fruit so far.

The Lakers don’t appear to be planning a public event to welcome James to Los Angeles, where he already owns multiple homes and spends summers with his family.

But Blaze Pizza – the growing pizza chain in which James is an investor – announced a three-hour pizza giveaway on Tuesday to welcome James to LA.

LeBron responded with a tweet , his first since June 26: ”Haven’t been to a pizza party in a minute … Culver City?”

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The Indiana Pacers will force LeBron James to go the distance to remain unbeaten in first-round series.

Behind Victor Oladipo’s 28 points and first career postseason triple-double, the Pacers sent the series back to Cleveland and pushed the defending Eastern Conference champions to the brink of an early exit and a possible summer of unrest with a 121-87 rout on Friday night.

”I just went out there and played. I did everything with confidence. I just played read and react,” Oladipo said. ”This game is over. It means absolutely nothing right now.”

If he can play that way one more time Ryan Hewitt Jersey , the Pacers could reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.

History does not bode well for the Pacers. James is 12-0 all-time in first-round series and home teams have a major advantage in Game 7.

But the Pacers have defied the odds all season and this series has been no exception.

Their Game 1 victory, in Cleveland, ended James’ record-setting, 21-game winning streak in the first round.

In Game 6, Indiana handed the Cavs their first loss in a closeout game in 14 tries dating to 2009 and ended James’ 11-game winning streak in closeout games.

It wasn’t even close.

While James finished with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds, coach Tyronn Lue opted to keep four of his five starters including James on the bench for the entire fourth quarter because Cleveland trailed by 25.

”They just took it to us (in the third),” James said. ”They made shots. We missed shots. We didn’t counter what they were doing defensively or offensively and it just turned the game wide open.”

Indiana did it by playing old-school postseason basketball – hard, aggressive and relentless.

It showed.

Kevin Love hurt his left wrist on a hard fall midway through the second quarter and wound up scoring just seven points while shooting 3 of 10 from the field. Lue provided no injury update after the game.

James took a shot, too, cutting the side of his left eye when he ran into Thaddeus Young’s elbow on a drive late in the first half. No foul was called. James continued to play with a large bandage and needed stitches after the game to close the gash.

”I thought they really played fast and tried to attack us early Theo Riddick Jersey ,” Lue said. ”I don’t even remember (what happened to start the second half). I really don’t. It happened so quickly.”

But the biggest difference was Oladipo, who had struggled mightily against the Cavs’ relentless defense the previous four games.

This time, he relaxed and got his teammates back in sync on a night he finished with 13 rebounds, 10 assists, went 11 of 19 from the field and 6 of 8 on 3s.

It was enough to keep the Pacers in charge most of the game.

”This was probably the most complete game we’ve played,” Lance Stephenson said. ”We got the lead and they never got back into a groove. We played smart basketball. We played lockdown defense, and I think the biggest part was we fed off their mistakes.”

The Cavs never led after the Pacers used a 12-2 run to erase a 22-17 first-quarter deficit.

They led 57-47 at halftime, extended the margin to 92-67 after three and led by as much as 36 before closing it out.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: The 34-point margin was Cleveland’s worst playoff loss since James returned for his second stint with the team. … Cleveland has only lost eight playoff games against the East since 2015 – three in this series. … Jeff Green scored 13 points and Rodney Hood had 12 as the Cavs committed 15 turnovers and were 12 of 38 on 3s.

Pacers: Have not lost three straight games since snapping a five-game skid in early January. … Indiana has been eliminated by James’ teams in four of its last six playoff appearances. … The Pacers produced their highest point total in the series Friday. … Seven players scored in double figures: Domantas Sabonis had 19, Darren Collison had 15, Stephenson had 12 and Bojan Bogdanovic and Young each had 10.

FINAL CHAPTER?

James was asked after the game if he had given any thought to the possibility Sunday’s game could be his last in Cleveland.

”No, no Dion Sims Jersey ,” James said. ”The thought that if we don’t play well this will be my last game of the year, that will probably hit my mind. But, um, I haven’t thought about (the future).”

James is expected to become a free agent this summer and many believe he could leave his hometown team for the second time in his career.

CALL IT AS THEY SEE IT

Pacers coach Nate McMillan artfully dodged a pregame question about whether he thought James generally received the benefit of the doubt on most close calls.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett did not.

Hogsett signed an executive order declaring that ”unlike some cities, goaltending remains an illegal action in the game of basketball – for all players, on all teams, without exception.” The proclamation continued: ”Indiana is the center of the basketball universe, and sometimes that means we have an obligation to stand up and defend the basic rules of the game.”

It was an obvious shot at the call the NBA acknowledged was missed with 3 seconds left in Game 5.

HILL’S BATTLE

Cavaliers point guard George Hill missed his third straight game but does appear to be on the mend. He participated in the Cavs’ morning shootaround, with a wrap around his injured back. And he participated in a pregame workout before he was deactivated.

Just 90 minutes before game time, Lue still did Jevon Carter Jersey ,