NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

September 29, 2020

LeBron James

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. LeBron, just studying the Heat and what you've seen from them in this postseason, what's at the top of the list? What stands out the most to you about the way that they're playing basketball?

LeBRON JAMES: I would think two things: One, how hard they play for 48 minutes, no matter if they're up, no matter if they're down. They play extremely hard. And I think two, it would be the way they move off the ball, they share the ball. Everyone is live on the floor. There's not one guy that you can disrespect or be off throughout the course of an offensive possession. And they do a hell of a job of moving without the ball, sharing the ball, cutting, passing. Those are two things that stand out.

Q. You've described that time in Miami like it was going to college for you. If you can think back to those four years, what were the most important lessons you learned about yourself and about leadership in general?

LeBRON JAMES: I think as far as leadership, that grows no matter where you are every day, if you want to be a leader, if you strive to be a leader every day. I think being around Riles and Spo, D-Wade and UD, just to name a few, being a part of that culture allowed me to grow, allowed me to see what it takes to not only compete for a championship but also to win a championship. So it definitely put me in a position where I knew what it took. I saw what it took. But also I fit that culture as well because of how hard I worked. It was a perfect match for those four years.

Q. Would it have any extra meaning to you to win a championship against Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra, guys that have helped shape you and vice versa in those years together?

LeBRON JAMES: Absolutely not. It's no extra meaning to winning a championship, no matter who you're playing against. It's already hard enough to even reach the Finals, to be in this position. If you're able to become victorious out of the Finals, it doesn't matter who it's against. I'm just happy that I'm here with the opportunity to represent not only myself but represent our fans, our fan base, our organization, my teammates, our coaching staff, our training staff and so many others that represent this organization to the utmost respect.

Q. Six years after playing for Miami, how do you feel about Pat Riley?

LeBRON JAMES: That's such a broad question. I don't understand.

Q. Leaves it open for interpretation. When you hear the name Pat Riley, what do you think about? How do you describe your relationship --

LeBRON JAMES: When I hear Pat Riley, I think about one of the greatest minds probably this game has ever had. He's won at every level. I saw the stat the other day that he's been part of a championship in four decades. This league is not the same without Riles. He's a great guy, great motivator, someone that just knows what it takes to win, and he's shown that over the course of, what, 40 years.

Q. You've talked about just sort of the difficulty of adapting to the bubble. How much have you sort of motivated yourself by reflecting that your teammates are taking cues from you and trying to see how you approach things and sort of approach getting through this grind, the three months here?

LeBRON JAMES: It's probably been the most challenging thing I've ever done as far as a professional, as far as committing to something and actually making it through. But I knew when I was coming what we were coming here for. I would be lying if I sat up here and knew that everything inside the bubble, the toll that it would take on your mind and your body and everything else, because it's been extremely tough.

But I'm here for one reason and one reason only, and that's to compete for a championship. That was my mindset once I entered the bubble, once I entered the quarantine process the first two days. Then right from my first practice, my mindset was to -- if I'm going to be here, make the most of it and see what you can do and lock in on what the main thing is. The main thing was for us to finish the season and compete for a championship.

So that's just been my mindset throughout these -- I don't even know how many days it is. However many days it is, it feels like five years. So it really doesn't matter. I've been as locked in as I've ever been in my career.

Q. Back in March the season comes to an end, two players on your team test positive for this virus. When did you think getting to this point was even a possibility? And what was it like kind of mourning the fact that maybe it wasn't happen?

LeBRON JAMES: I didn't know that this was a possibility until we actually got on the plane in L.A. to fly here to Orlando. We had seen some other teams arrive before us. We got here July 9th. We had seen some of the teams arrive a couple days before us. But until we landed here, actually got off the plane, got on the bus and pulled up here to the hotel, that's when it became a reality to me.

Q. From your vantage point, what do you think it is about Erik Spoelstra that, no matter if it's coaching No. 1 picks or a collection of undrafted/lower-drafted guys, allows him to continue to bring groups back here to the Finals, but also not necessarily always be in the conversation with that upper echelon of coaches?

LeBRON JAMES: Well, that's a question for you guys. The players and the coaches know how great Spo is. There's this narrative that Spo is not great, and the narrative that he doesn't get a lot of respect, which he should. He prepares his team every single night. If you watch the Miami Heat, no matter who's on the floor, they're going to play Heat culture. They're going to play hard. They're going to play together. That's what he's always been about. It's been you guys that have changed the narrative or has never given Spo his respect because he had D-Wade or he had myself or he had Bosh. But a lot of coaches have talent. A lot of coaches have had talent over the course of this league. It's not one.

It's unfortunate that he hasn't gotten his respect. Every time we talked about Spo when I was there and we talked about how great he prepared us, and we talked about how great it was playing for Spo and things of that nature, you guys always said, Well, you have LeBron, you have D-Wade, you have Bosh; any coach can do it. No, any coach can't do it. If any coach could do it, then there would be a lot more champions in this league. There would be a lot more successful coaches.

Spo likes it. That's what fuels Spo, is the disrespect that you guys give him, the basketball world. I'm not going to sit up here and act like I don't know what Spo is all about, because he's damned good, if not great. Probably is great, because his preparation. He prepares like it's his last time ever coaching again every game, and I know that. That's why I feel good.

Q. There is political financial data out there that shows that pro sports owners, including NBA owners, donate overwhelmingly to Republican causes. I know they've pledged a lot of money to help with racial and social justice issues, but do you feel that those political contributions undercut some of the efforts that players are making to gain progress on those topics?

LeBRON JAMES: Well, one, I'm not going to give my energy to that because it's not surprising. My mom has always told me, control what you can control, and I can't control that. What I can control is what I'm doing on my side and trying to have people gather around me and gather around my initiatives and doing what we're doing to try to effect change, not only in our communities but outside of our communities with the youth, and let them understand how important their voice is and their vote is to our society. It's hard as hell, because they just don't believe it. They don't believe that their vote or their message or their minds or their voices matter. But that's where my energy is, on continuing to push the envelope in my community, continue to let them know that they are the future, they are the reason why there will be change. But I can't give my energy to the other side because that will take away from my people, and I can't do that.

Control what you can control. I can't control that. That is what it is. It's not a surprise. But I've got work to do on the other side. So that's what my mission is about.

Q. You mentioned you're as determined as ever, right now as locked in as you've ever been. Usually during this postseason run you block out from social media. You couldn't do it this year because you're in a bubble, away from family. Important election coming up. How has that adjustment been for you during this time to have access to social media? You usually try to eliminate distractions, but you've got it right there in your hand.

LeBRON JAMES: Yeah, I think in this particular case, everything about this year is different. Everything about 2020 is different, and to make the most of it, you have to be able to adjust. I've adjusted in the sense of understanding that there's also a bigger opportunity coming up as well in November, while I'm still keeping the main thing the main thing and the focus on leaving a legacy here and playing the game that I love to play and competing for a championship. But also letting my people know that I'm not jaded, and I'm not too distracted where I cannot continue to give the resources, put the people in place to help them go to the places where they don't believe they can even go. Sometimes you do things that even you personally don't even believe that you can do, but when you have a support system, and you have a group around you that's just as motivated as you, you're able to tackle a few things at once.

Q. The last couple times you were here, you were pretty outmanned by a team with four great players. As you come back now with the team you have around you, how do you feel going into this 10th Finals now? Do you feel like talent-wise you don't have to worry about that problem this time?

LeBRON JAMES: I never had a problem with any team I went to the Finals [with]. I've always been confident that we had the ability to win. If you're going to a Finals saying you're undermanned or you feel like you don't have enough, then who are you? The game is won between the four lines, not won on paper. At the end of the day, when I've lost in the Finals, the better team won because they played well, they were more prepared and they did what they needed to do to win those four games. When I've won, the same thing.

I'm not here to talk about the talent we all have, the team that we have. The game is won in between the four lines, 94 feet. The team that is prepared and the team that executes, the team that is not careless throughout 48 minutes will give themselves a chance to win each and every game. I'm confident going into this Finals, as I've always been in my career.

Q. It's been a long time, obviously, since you played for the Heat and a lot has happened to you and to the league since then. All these years later, is there something that you still take away from your days in Miami? The other one is, how are you different just from the last time that you were in the Finals, which was two years ago?

LeBRON JAMES: I think every part of anybody's individual life where they were able to grow, it never leaves you. That's no different for me having my four years in Miami, being around -- with that culture, growing. You guys don't realize, I talk about it, I went to Miami when I was 25 years old. I was 25. I was 25 to 29, so I was still growing. I was still a kid and still trying to figure out who I am as a person and as a man, growing while still trying to compete for a championship every single year.

I grew, and they allowed me to grow. We pushed each other every single day, and like I said, I fit perfectly in that culture because I worked just as hard as anybody else. I show up to work and I don't leave until I feel like I was as great as I was. Do you always become successful at it? Are you always going to win? No, it doesn't happen like that. But you're able to sleep a little bit better at night when you know you've punched the clock.

And how am I different today than two years ago when I entered the Finals? I've got a little bit more gray hair in my beard.