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At first glance, the gravity of the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to have sucked in yet another all-time great. LeBron James, heading into the 16th season of his career, was asked to bring the luster back to one of the N.B.A.’s two marquee franchises, and he readily accepted by agreeing to a four-year contract with the team on Sunday.

The difference between this move by James, and the ones executed in the past by top-tier Hall of Famers like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal, is that James does not need anything from the Lakers.

He is not trying to escape the confines of a small market that is holding him back in terms of fame or fortune and he is not trying to legitimize himself as a winner. James, with three titles under his belt to go with four Most Valuable Player Awards and two Olympic gold medals (along with more than $200 million in career basketball earnings), is believed to have chosen the team as much for the comfort of his family — they already make their off-season home in Los Angeles — as he did for any sort of basketball reason.

It would be easy to make the case that this is a curious move for James in terms of his legacy. The Lakers are lacking in experience and play in the same conference as the mighty Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, which could end his incredible streak of making the N.B.A. finals at eight seasons. He will also have to contend with a fan base that will rank him far below homegrown talent like Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson almost no matter what he does.