LeBron James will head to the Lakers, and yes, there are memes

LeBron says goodbye while the internet gets to work.
 By 
Marcus Gilmer
 on 
LeBron James will head to the Lakers, and yes, there are memes
Cleveland bids goodbye to LeBron. Again. Credit: Getty Images

It's more of a Monday than usual in Cleveland as homegrown superstar LeBron James announced on Sunday night that he's leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers, striking a deal of $153.3 million over four years.

There was a lot less anger from Cavs fans for this departure versus the last time LeBron left town. Back in 2010, he ripped fans' hearts out by announcing his decision to go to Miami in a now-infamous live, nationally televised special. (The decision also led to the greatest use of Comic Sans ever written.)

This was a more understated way to go, as Sunday's news broke via press release. Plus, LeBron won a title in Cleveland and accomplished a lot with a sometimes meager supporting cast.


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But there were memes.

Oh, yes, there were memes on memes on memes, and it all starts with a great call-back to that photo from the 2018 NBA Finals. Yeah, that photo.

I mean, In-N-Out is good, but is it better than Shake Shack or Five Guys, both of which have Cleveland locations?

But this was hardly the only meme making the rounds following the big announcement. And, yes, poor JR Smith and other former LeBron teammates made appearances.

Some were just plain great.

And some noted that the Eastern Conference will finally be a bit more competitive without LeBron to win the Conference Finals every year.

Whatever you think of the move, one thing is for sure: if you live on the East Coast, you'd better invest in coffee, as the most exciting games will air on West Coast time for the 2018-19 season.

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Marcus Gilmer

Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

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