LeBron James Talks First Practice With Lakers, Potential Return Vs. Utah, Fitting In With Group

LeBron James Talks First Practice With Lakers, Potential Return Vs. Utah, Fitting In With Group

back with the teams. What’s this last? Definitely feel new for sure. Been like for you just mentally, physically hard as you ramp up our historic Yeah, it’s just been uh kind of the same revolving door. Just repetition, repetition, repetition, rehabing, rehabing, rehabbing, just trying to get back to uh where I feel like myself again. It’s great to be here every day. How are you feeling at this point after um I mean, as expected, obviously my lungs feel like a newborn baby. That’s the most important thing. I got to get my lungs back up to a grown man and uh my voice is already gone. One day back barking out calls and assignments and stuff and uh getting my voice working again. So be a lot of tea and rest tonight. That feels good though. Yeah, it feels good to be out here with the guys missing. Man, what what would be the deciding factor for you and your team on whether you play tomorrow night? I mean, we got a long time. I mean, we we’ve been taking literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process. So, um, see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning, we probably shoot around. So, just got to see how the body responds over the next, uh, 24 hours plus. People off guard to hear. N AR AR is funny. AR is funny. What was that experience like for you? And how was it helpful in getting you to where you It was It was great. I mean, um, you know, I appreciate the coaching staff and the players allowing me to one kind of, you know, change the practice detail a little bit. They usually go at 11:00. I’m an early bird. I was like, can we go at 10:00? I wanted to go out like 8:00, but a little uh pull and tuck and tuck and pull. But, uh, it’s very humbling. I mean, I could go out there. That’s the benefit of having a farm system. Basically, the guys were gone on that long road trip. Um, I got cleared to, um, place a 50 on five for the first time since she had hurt my MCL versus Minnesota. And uh that was the blessing. I was able they was here preparing for their games and I got an opportunity to get a couple runs in with them um couple practices in. So it was blessing. You’ve um you’ve never started a season injured. Yeah. Before um what was that like mentally? Um Oh, it sucks. It definitely sucks. Um never in my life cuz I started playing the game of basketball I ever not started a season in my life. So, you know, it’s been a it’s been a mind test, but you know, I’m built for it and just been, you know, putting in the work um both mentally and physically and just trying to get myself ready to rejoin the team. This group went 10 and four without you. Um what did you kind of make of some of those moments? Um what have you seen watching them? Uh seen a lot. I mean, obviously, uh the road trip went pretty good. It was a good way to to to end a road trip in Milwaukee. um that back to back starting uh you know in New Orleans. So those last two games was very key. Um but you know guys have just been like everyone enjoys being around each other and love playing for one another. We sacri a lot of guys sacrifices. So just for me just seeing ways I could just fit in organically you know right off the top I know ways I can help this team right away uh when I am put back in the lineup. I was wrong while you were out. You ever had it? Anybody ever had it? Some version of it. What did you know about it before you? I’ve had it. I’ve had it. I had it two years ago. I had it two years ago. If you had it, then you know what the hell it’s about. If you ain’t never had it and people making jokes about it, I pray you never get it. It’s not It’s not fun. Did you have it during the season two years ago or off season? No, offseason. Offseason. Given your multi-kill resume and say that again, I’m sorry. Given your multi-kill resume and the makeup of the team, how similar, different do you expect more this season be compared to last season? Don’t matter. I’m a ball player. I’m the best thing about me and the way I built my game over my whole life and my coaches since I was in little league. I’ve never had a position. You know, Spo just say position is basketball be positionless. There’s not one team, one club in the world that I can’t fit in and play for. I can do everything on the floor. So, whatever this team needs me to do and more, I can do it when I’m back to myself. You mentioned um just how the chemistry has been and and the vibes have been high. Um what’s kind of been the dynamic between you know you kind of getting back integrated with the guys and has anything surprised you about Yeah, I got to work my way back into it. I mean guys have been doing road trips, shootarounds, been on flights so I got to work my way back into the fold of things. Um you know so it’s kind of like a you know kid going to a new school again. Just kind of you know got to learn the guys and everything. So they got they got some great chemistry and I’m just, you know, build my way back in and and do it organically. So it shouldn’t be hard, but definitely it’s going to be a fill out process. Even the pre even maybe pre-catica um entering year 23. Yeah. Over 40 years old. Um I can tell you all the other ways that you’re super old, but uh did you have different plans for yourself in terms of the way you were going to handle your body this year during the season? Yeah. Like even in the build through the summer? Um was it all Was it going to be business as usual? It was going to be business as usual. Obviously, you know, at this point, how many miles I got on my body as far as how long I’ve played to not be on the court as much. Kind of giving, you know, everything to adjust. But, I mean, I got a pretty bad MCL sprint against Minnesota. So, I couldn’t really do nothing for like 8 to 10 weeks anyways as far as, you know, on the court anyway. So, that kind of set me back. And not too long after that, I started to feel, you know, my hip and my back and things of that nature. So, start going. So, everything kind of changed. my whole dynamic kind of changed. How was I was how I was going to prepare for the season. Um but it’s almost blessing in disguise. When did that process to getting to to today to getting maybe on the cusp of this? When did it like really start? Like were you Cuz you were doing individual stuff a little bit. Yeah, like mid June I started to feel it. I think I think like mid June. Yeah. Yeah. I think it was like mid June. Well, how long have you been painfree? Are you painree? I won’t take it that far. Uh, like I said, if you ever had it, you just you go about it, you wake up one day and you hope that when you step down another bed, you don’t feel it. Uh, you go to bed at night and hope when you get in the bed, you don’t feel it. Uh, so I’ve been doing pretty good with it as of late. It’s a lot of exercises and a lot of mobility things and a lot of things that you can do to help to help it. Um, so I’m just keeping a positive uh keeping a positive mindset about it all. Did this time make you miss it? like the everything like playing the games, being in the NBA, suiting up with your teammates with the competition. I miss these guys. Um, you know, just seeing them going out there and working. I love the work. I love the process of working. Um, I don’t miss the travel. I’m about to be 41 years old. I’m I’m I’m I was happy sitting at home, you know, on my couch after work and all this things of that nature. Um, yeah, but I don’t miss the travel, but I definitely miss the competition. I miss these guys. I know what you mean with the travel. Huh? I know what you mean by the travel. Yeah, man. Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough. The time that you spent with the GL team, it’s obviously not something that you’ve gone through in your career before. Does it give you a different perspective or new on just what these guys go through and the career they’re trying to carve out for themselves? Uh, I mean, I don’t I didn’t need to go down there to practice with them to understand and appreciate what they go through on trying to get to the big leagues. Um, you know, it’s um it’s it’s a dream of all of ours and no matter where you start. Um, you know, you’re always trying to to figure out a way how you can make a name for yourself in this park in the NBA. And those guys sacrifice every day. They come in here and they work. They go in their games, they play, they prepare just like we do. Um, you know, with the hopes and the dreams of being called up someday. So, um, as much respect to not only our our our, um, farm club, but to all all the club that’s around the league. Last question. kind of knowing how you go about your day and you know how much film you watch. How’s this last few weeks been for you to watch your film? Being able to digest what you’ve been seeing across the league and then also what you’ve been able to see from Aiden, someone I know that you find on the pocket pass. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, for me, um you know, just breaking down our our team and and seeing how well we’ve been playing both offensively and defensively for the majority of the season. Um, you know, I just love the ball movement, the dominance between Luca and and AR kind of running the whole show and then, uh, you know, DA just anchoring the back line, you know, with his, uh, his ability to set screens, one of the best screen setters we have in this league, but also making himself available either for pocket passes and his short jump shot that he have at 15 ft or getting loss behind the basket and then Jack’s kind of backing him up and then everybody else just kind of, you know, Jake and AR, I mean Jake and Ruie and Marcus and and everybody, you know, Maxi big minutes, you know, against Milwaukee, some of the games that some of the guys were out and, you know, you seen you seen Nick Smith and Bonnie give production in that game in Portland, you know, after a back off a back to back and everybody just kind of just when that guys numbers been called, guys have been ready and that that’s just straight professionalism and uh but it’s also like everybody enjoy competing for each other, you know, and riding for each other. So, um I want to leave Gabe out. Vando Rook got his first points the other night. That was awesome. Shout out Giannis for getting the ball. I don’t know what the I know they was tripping about that, but yeah, that was just weird. That’s just weird. It’s a lot of weird going on these days. Uh, shout out Rook getting his first point. And uh, yeah, I know y’all missed me. Okay, bye.

LeBron James talks to the media after his first full practice with the Los Angeles Lakers this season on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.

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