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LeBron James # 23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 26, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images / AFP
LeBron James says that leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals after nearly three months inside the league “bubble” in Orlando is the biggest challenge of his career.
The 35-year-old superstar is gearing up for a tenth appearance in the NBA Finals on Wednesday when the Lakers take on the Miami Heat in the championship round of an unprecedented season that began 11 months ago.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the NBA to shut down in mid-March, and anger at racism and police brutality nearly led James and the Lakers to leave the season in August.
James, who hopes to win a fourth championship ring with a different third team after previous victories with Miami and Cleveland, said Tuesday that this year’s disjointed season was ranked the most difficult of all.
“It’s probably been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my professional life, in terms of committing to something and actually achieving it,” James told reporters.
“But I knew when he came why we came here. I would be lying if I sat here and knew that everything is inside the bubble, the price that it would charge your mind, your body and everything else, because it has been extremely difficult.
“But I’m here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to compete for a championship. That was my way of thinking once I entered the bubble, once I entered the quarantine process for the first two days. The main thing for us was to finish the season and compete for a championship ”.
James, who in July jokingly compared entering the bubble in Orlando to starting a prison sentence, said he had lost track of time in Florida.
‘It feels like five years’
“I don’t even know how many days it is. As many days as it is, it feels like five years, ”he said. “So it doesn’t really matter. I’ve been as locked up as ever in my career. “
James said that until the Lakers left Los Angeles for Orlando in July, he wasn’t even sure the season would be complete.
“I didn’t know this was a possibility until we got on the plane in Los Angeles to fly here to Orlando,” he said.
“Until we landed here, got off the plane, got on the bus and got to the hotel, that’s when it became a reality for me.
This year’s final pits James against his former team and former coach Erik Spoelstra. James won back-to-back titles with Miami in 2012 and 2013, but left the franchise in 2014 to return to Cleveland.
James, who is reputed to have had a sometimes strained relationship with Spoelstra during his time with the franchise, said winning against Miami would not bring any additional satisfaction.
“Absolutely not,” James said. “It has no additional meaning to win a championship, no matter who you are playing against. It’s hard enough to get to the final, to be in this position.
“If you can come out of the Finals victorious, it doesn’t matter who I’m up against. I am happy to be here with the opportunity to represent not only myself, but to represent our fans, our fan base, our organization, my teammates, our coaching staff, our coaching staff and so many others who represent this organization before the greatest respect. “
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