Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It still remains to be seen when it will start but the NBA season will need to start eventually. There has been talk about starting around Christmas time but there’s also been a lot of pushback. Among the players who reportedly don’t like the idea of starting back up so soon is Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
The Lakers only recently finished off a title run so it makes sense why the 35-year-old would like a little more of a break. However, there have been a lot of teams that haven’t played in a long time. There were eight teams that didn’t even go to the bubble. Not playing means less money coming in and while that’s not a problem for LeBron and other big stars, it could be a problem for lower-level players.
Matt Hladik of The Spun is reporting that one “major star” isn’t happy with how LeBron and some other players have gone against the idea of starting the upcoming NBA season in December:
“It’s amazing how many people when we got ours forget about majority of players who don’t,” the anonymous player told The Spun. “Sometimes we act like everyone has a max deal. We already know due to a lot of reasons the cap is gonna drop and drop big. It’s time for some of them, the one percenters they love to hate on off the basketball court to get their s–t together and think about the guys at the bottom.”
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LeBron Needs to Stop Thinking About Himself, Says Player
There’s no doubt that this a tough situation to be in. Considering LeBron’s age, there are obvious reasons why he wouldn’t want to start playing again so soon. That said, the game is a lot bigger than just one guy.
“Nobody disrespects LeBron’s game,” the anonymous player said, per Hladik. “The problem is he is his biggest fan and he needs to start thinking about other people and not just himself and his image.”
There are many reasons the NBA would like to start soon and there’s a lot of money at play. It’s not an ideal situation for anybody to be in but there might need to be more sacrifice to get things back to normal.
Will LeBron Play if Season Starts in December?
Should the NBA and NBAPA decide to move forward with a December start date, LeBron is going to have some big decisions on his hand. If he was still in his 20s, he’d likely be out there and play every game. However, he’ll be 36 at the end of December. He’s going to need to preserve his body after a grueling playoff run that barely ended in October.
It’s reasonable to believe that LeBron could take some time off at the beginning of the year. The Lakers proved to be the best team in the NBA and don’t need to be the top seed in the Western Conference. With packed arenas highly unlikely this upcoming season, homecourt advantage won’t matter much. LeBron taking a month off shouldn’t set the team back too much, especially if they are able to retain most of the championship roster.
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