Lakers’ LeBron James Drops Strong Statement About Potential NBA Return

Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

For the first time in months, there appears to be real optimism around the idea that the NBA season will return. For the most part, players have stayed strong in their belief that the season would continue, but with all the variables in place, it’s been hard to know for sure. The Los Angeles Lakers perhaps have the most to lose if the season does end up getting canceled. If that were to happen, Anthony Davis would hit free agency and LeBron James loses a year.

James recently made it clear that the Lakers are attacking this suspension with a certain mindset.

“Definitely not giving up on the season,” James said on the “WRTS: After Party” show. “Not only myself and my teammates, the Lakers organization, we want to play. There’s a lot of players that I know personally that want to play. And obviously, we don’t ever want to jeopardize the health of any of our players or any of the players’ families and so on and so on.

“This is a pandemic that we have no idea (about). We can’t control it.”

This isn’t the first time James has made it clear he would like to the season to resume. The Lakers were at the top of the Western Conference when play was suspended and they had just beaten two of the three best teams in the NBA. Los Angeles has something special right now and it would be a disappointment if the current group never got to compete for a title together.

James Talks Other Sports Coming Back

If the NBA does end up returning, it wouldn’t be the first sport to return to action.

“We’re seeing a lot of sporting events, UFC, soccer, we’re hearing baseball’s about to get going in a little bit,” James said. “You know, I want to get back to playing. I love to play the game of basketball. I know how inspiring the game of basketball is. I know how inspiring sport is, itself. As soon as possible, when we can get back out there, we’d love to bring the game of basketball back to our fans.”

Basketball is a little more tricky than baseball because players are typically far apart from each other. In basketball, players are in constant direct contact with other players. That said, if players are all in agreement that they want to finish the season, then the season will likely continue.

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James Misses Playing

There’s a lot of positive momentum on a potential return of play and players can actually go back to team facilities. However, even if the season does continue, it’s still likely going to take a little more than a month for players to get back into game shape. James’ teammate Jared Dudley has noted before that players will get injured more frequently if they’re thrust into action before they are ready.

Regardless, James is tired of sitting around and wants to get to hit the court soon.

“I know we all miss it,” James said. “I’d be sitting here lying if I said we don’t.”

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