NBA
LeBron James: “I have no idea where I am emotionally”
The future NBA Hall of Famer says the Lakers made too many errors in some of their playoff games which led to their elimination.
LeBron James has had some time to reflect on the season - one in which he and the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs for the second year in succession by the Denver Nuggets. The future Hall of Famer of the league averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 71 games played in the regular season.
LeBron James’ options for next season
Uncertainty about LeBron’s future remains. He has the player option of returning to the Lakers for the 2024/25 season in exchange for $51.4 million or opting for free agency. According to several reports, the ‘King’ wants to sit down and negotiate a new contract with the Lakers and extend two or three more years.
In the latest episode of the Mind The Game podcast with J.J. Redick, James spoke about the series against the Nuggets, regretted the mistakes the team made and admitted that in the end, the best team advanced to the next round. He also revealed that he has not yet made a decision about his future for next season.
LeBron James analyzes the series against the Nuggets
“Where am I emotionally right now? I don’t know to be honest. I have no idea where I am emotionally right now. Obviously going against the defending champions in the first round is always gonna be a difficult challenge, we knew that coming into it. But f***, we had so many opportunities man. And to lose in five, two of them being game-winners by Jamal [Murray] and his greatness, but we had so many opportunities.” James said.
He continued, “Obviously being up 20 in Game 2 in their building and losing that game. Having so many opportunities in other games, you just feel like shit if one play here, one play there, could have made a hell of a difference. But when you’re playing against a team like that you have zero room for error and I believe we made too many errors in some of the games. I seen some crazy ass stat about the minutes that we were leading in the series, compared to losing in the series. But we both know that’s a little bit of fool’s gold because most playoff games come down to one or two, three or four possessions and if you’re not able to capitalize on those possessions or make plays during those possessions, that’s how you lose games.
“Emotionally I feel like we were right there, obviously in every game, to be able to steal a game. But also at the same time, we weren’t and that’s why we lost the series. Shit hurts obviously. Being the competitor I am, the competitor you are, you’ve been in multiple series in your career as well. But f*** man, I feel like a couple plays here a couple plays there, we could’ve won the series. But the better team won, the better team won for sure. Give credit where credit is due,” he concluded.