*LeBron James is proud to be among a new team of fresh, young players who are just as passionate about driving the Los Angeles Lakers’ into the playoffs.
“We just got guys that love to play basketball,” James told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols as part of a wide-ranging sit-down interview Monday at the opening of his I Promise School.
“At the end of the day, guys that love to play ball, and that’s what they do every single day, I love that. I love that, and I think [Rob] Pelinka and Magic [Johnson] love that as well, and that’s why they made the signings. And bringing Lance and JaVale and Beas and Rondo, they’re guys that every day that they wake up they think about the game of basketball. And everything else is secondary.”
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In his first interview since joining the Lakers, James says he’s looking forward to the challenge of returning the Lakes to its past glory.
“I like the challenge of being able to help a team get to places that they haven’t been in quite a while,” James said. “And obviously the Lakers haven’t made the playoffs in a few years, but the Lakers organization and historical franchise matches up there with all the greats. You can look at the Cowboys and you can look at the Patriots, you can look at Manchester United, the Boston Celtics — these are like historical franchises. And for me to be a part of that, I think it’s a great move not only for me but for my family and for the history of basketball in general.”
The 34-year-old baller is entering his 16th season. He has won three championships and made it to the NBA Finals nine times.
When asked if he feels like he is sacrificing a year of his prime to play with a team of untested newbies, rather than staying on a squad that was more championship ready, James replied:
“I don’t even look at it like that because I don’t feel like this is going to be one of the last years of my prime,” he said. “That’s another statistic number, and I’ve always been a part of beating the odds in life. So being around my kids a lot, it gives me even more and more time in my youth.
“So I don’t feel like this is even a rebuilding year for us. We have an opportunity to do something that a lot of people don’t think we can do, and we love the notion of it’s another rebuilding year and we don’t have enough. So that will motivate the guys that we have anyways.”
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