At 48-13, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference by 5.5 games with just 21 games remaining.
While the Lakers have established themselves as championship contenders, doubters have naturally brought up their record against other favorites.
After a 111-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 19, the two teams met for the final time three months later as the Lakers made quite a statement.
Following James’ near triple-double performance (37 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in 36 minutes), he was asked about what they learned.
“We’ve learned from every game that we’ve played this year — both wins and losses,” James said after what could be a 2020 NBA Finals preview.
“You’ve got to have a growth mindset and you’ve got to be able to grow in losses and be able to grow in wins as well and see things that you could’ve done better… things that you did well that you can apply to the next game and things of that nature. It’s always a growth mindset for our club.”
Throughout the 2019-20 NBA season, James has been consistent with his message after winning three championships in eight straight NBA Finals.
Although this was a statement win for the Lakers, James and company do not try to get too high or too low and it has been an effective mindset.
With so many new players, the Lakers have quickly come together and have exceeded expectations at this point of the season. As the Lakers recently signed Markieff Morris and Dion Waiters, the next step is to incorporate them in the final 20 games and improve their chances of winning it all in June.
As James is arguably the best player in the league still, there is confidence he will also take his game to another level heading into the 2020 NBA playoffs.
