Despite holding a number of significant NBA records, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is clearly still motivated to be great, even at the age of 40.
James turned in another All-NBA caliber season in 2024-25 and even played in 70 games, which is an impressive feat in its own right.
Now though, the focus shifts towards the postseason as the Lakers look to make a run behind their big three of James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. It seems that James’ motivation comes from the pursuit of his fifth championship, as he explained on the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash:
“Listen, at this point in my career, the regular season is fun and cool, but I only care about the playoffs. I’m all about the process and I will always be about the process to get to this point. But if you have a chance to win it and you know you have a team that has a chance, it doesn’t always result into winning but if you have a chance and you know you have a fighting chance of walking into this ring and say ‘We can beat anyone. We can beat anyone.’ We know we have to play close to perfect basketball, obviously we know that and it takes a lot of luck in the postseason, we understand that, but when it comes to playoff basketball, it’s definitely a drug. For sure.”
LeBron has not been shy in his pursuit to be the greatest of all time, and of course the best way to add to his legacy would be to win a fifth title.
As someone who has played in the NBA Finals 10 times, it is understandable that James does not get up for the regular season at this stage of his career.
If the Lakers are gonna make a run though, then they will need LeBron continuing to play at a high level, which is a tough task for the 40-year-old that he appears to be up to.
LeBron James: Lakers will be more ready for physicality in Game 2
LeBron James and the Lakers face a 1-0 series deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round after being blown out on their home floor in Game 1.
The Lakers’ lack of physicality was a big reason for the loss, and James expects his team to be more ready in Game 2.
“When you play the Minnesota team, you got to be physical. That’s what they bring to the table,” James said. “So maybe it took us one playoff game to now get a feel for the type of intensity, the type of physicality that’s going to be brought to the game, but that’s just the way they play. So we should be more than prepared for that on Tuesday night.”
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