LeBron James has been atop the news cycle in the world of the Los Angeles Lakers over the last few days, and not because of anything he did on or off the court. An ESPN article alleged that Lakers governor Jeanie Buss was frustrated that LeBron received too much credit for “saving the franchise” instead of her, a report that she vehemently denied.
The Lakers played their first game in the wake of those rumors, a loss to the L.A. Clippers on Thursday night. It dropped them to the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, with virtually no breathing room ahead of the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns.
LeBron was asked about the article after the game, and he explained his mindset when it comes to the Lakers franchise while avoiding a direct response to the contents of the report, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I don’t really care about the reports, to be honest,” James said. “Since I’ve been here, my eighth year here [in L.A.], been in this league 23 years, there’s [always going to] be another article tomorrow, especially involving me.
“At the end of the day, when I came to this organization, my whole mindset was about restoring excellence. The things that I saw growing up with the Lakers — obviously, I didn’t get an opportunity to watch the Showtime [era], but I know the history. Then the early 2000s with Shaq [O’Neal] and Kobe [Bryant], and then what Kobe did and those couple runs with him and Pau [Gasol]. So, my whole mindset was like, how can I get that feeling back to the Lakers organization? … I was able to do that along with, you know, 14, 16 other guys winning the championship, bringing the championship here. That’s always been my mindset.”
The Lakers star eventually responded to some of the commentary, leaning on the contributions he feels he’s made to the franchise over the years.
“I thought it was good, but, you know, somebody could see it another way,” James said. “It’s always two sides of the coin. … How I represented this franchise, and what I wanted to do to represent this franchise since when I got here until now, it’s been with the utmost respect and honor and dignity. And I would say loyalty. I mean, s—, I played here longer than pretty much any other franchise I played for besides Cleveland.”
At the end of the day, though, LeBron feels the whole situation is beneath him at this stage of his career.
“Quite frankly, I don’t really care about articles,” James said. “I really don’t. I don’t care about stories. I don’t care about podcasts and all that type of s—. Nah, they don’t bother me. I’m 41 years old, and I watch golf every day. I don’t care about an article. I don’t care how somebody feels about me. If you know me personally and you know what I’m about, [my teammates] know what I’m about, and that’s all that matters. … I can care less how somebody feels about me.”
If this ultimately leads to LeBron’s exit from L.A., it would be a disappointing way for his eight-year tenure to end. He delivered on his goal of bringing the Lakers back to championship contention, but could have done so more if not for ill-advised moves by the front office.
But hopefully, Jeanie and LeBron can sort this out privately if the reporting against Jeanie is untrue.
JJ Redick: Everybody in organization appreciates LeBron James
Lakers head coach JJ Redick came to the defense of LeBron in the wake of this article. He said that everybody in the Lakers organization appreciates James and that he has done a remarkable job being the face of this franchise for eight years.
