The NBA is doing its best to replicate the gaming experience players are used to, including criticizing Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” for the public address system when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Wizards in a dispute when they were designated as home. team in Orlando, Florida.
However, there is no denying that things are different during the league restart. And with all the turmoil that has occurred, LeBron James is changing his own postseason ritual.
The Lakers star said Tuesday that he is removing his self-imposed social media blockade for the playoffs, something he refers to as “Dark Zero Thirty-three” mode, playing on the movie’s title.
“He will definitely have a different mindset, a different feeling,” James said on a video conference call when asked about his approach to the Lakers’ next challenge. “I’m not going to turn off my phone during this race. I can’t afford to do it. I have to keep consulting my family every day.”
In recent years, James has reduced the time he spent on Twitter and Instagram in April and June to sharpen his focus. But during those playoff races, he had the balance of playing at home and away, flying back from the highway sands to spend time with his wife, Savannah; mother, Gloria; and three children, Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri.
James specifically cited his mother as someone to “check in with.”
“Making sure everything continues to go well, especially in the uncertainty of what 2020 has brought us all,” he said. “So I can’t afford to do that, I just lose direct contact with everyone.”
When asked if he had been away from his family for that long (James and the Lakers could be in Orlando for 3 1/2 months during the coronavirus pandemic, should they make it to the final), he said the only comparable experience was play for America. Basketball at the Olympic Games. But the Olympics obligation was “probably like 30 days,” he said.
Social media has already provided James with a way to keep up with his family since he entered the bubble. Recently, his wife shared a video of his Instagram story of Bryce, 13, laughing at Bronny, 15, with a print of his father. She also made James laugh, and shared it on her Instagram.
James said with virtual parenting, “There is nothing I can do to replicate time, presence,” but the phone helps keep you connected.
“Communication can always be consistent and leadership can always be consistent, and that’s something I’ve always had control over,” he said. “But you can’t replicate the real presence when you’re waking up and you’re in the living room or kitchen, or you’re outside playing with your sons or playing with your daughter, playing video games with your boys, or training with your boys. You can’t replicate that. I’m not there.
“But Savannah is a beast in what she does: controlling the house and being the stone to our family. So I’m not worried about that. But you definitely have that weird factor when you miss your family, you miss your kids and things of That nature. But I really thank Steve Jobs and the Apple team for having FaceTime, because it’s a beautiful thing, especially at a time like this. “
Closing social media for “Zero Dark Thirty-23” this year would also mean leaving their platform at a time when James and his NBA siblings have been acting as spokespersons for social change. Thirteen of the last 27 Instagram posts that James has shared with his more than 69 million followers were geared toward social justice issues.
Perhaps a change of direction is wise, anyway. Last season, the Lakers were 28-29 coming out of the All-Star break when James said his playoff mode had already been “activated” in late February. LA went from 9-16 and James missed the postseason for the first time since 2005.
James ‘new Lakers teammate JR Smith, who played with the four-time MVP in Cleveland, said James’ change in postseason personality is a bit inappropriate, anyway.
“Honestly, he’s the same person, bro,” Smith said in the last episode of the podcast “Inside the Green Room with Danny Green.” “I’m not going to lie to you. He’ll start reading more. He’ll start reading more. He’ll come out of social media and read. He’ll do that. But other than that, there is the same person.”
Regardless of his Orlando methods, James promised to be prepared for what lies ahead.
“I will be as locked up as I can be under the circumstances,” he said. “I will not cheat on my teammates, I will not cheat on our fans and I will not cheat on myself. I will be ready to go.”
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