The Los Angeles Lakers were recently handed a convincing first-round defeat in the 2025 NBA Playoffs at the hands of Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in five games.
James and the Lakers' shortcomings have dominated the NBA landscape following Minnesota's 103-96 win in Game 5 on Wednesday to end the series.
In the immediate aftermath of the Timberwolves' victory, Edwards and Adidas launched an ad campaign in direct reference to the future Hall-of-Famer being eliminated by the rising superstar.
"Shortly after the Timberwolves sent the Lakers packing for the off-season, the official Adidas Basketball social media accounts shared the same post," Sports Illustrated's Pat Benson wrote Thursday.
"The infamous picture of Edwards celebrating by pointing his finger at Luka Doncic (Doncic was cropped out) with the message, 'The King Slayer."
In a nod to James' 'King' moniker, Adidas presented Edwards as the 'King Slayer' after the Timberwolves' excellent first-round showing.
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With Edwards seemingly positioned as the leading man in talks to be crowned the next 'face' of the NBA, both he and the company figured it was the perfect time to prop the electrifying guard up as a truly unstoppable force.
The 23-year-old has been signed with Adidas since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to the Timberwolves, and he inked a four-year extension with the brand last July.
As for James, he and the Lakers will head back to the drawing board to plan their course of action for the coming offseason and the 2025-26 campaign, which would be his 23rd NBA season.
Over the course of the Lakers' five-game opening-round series against Minnesota, the 21-time All-Star contributed 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 48.9% from the field.
More NBA: Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards celebrates series win over Lakers in shocking fashion