Hundreds of reporters filled into the UCLA Health Training Center, as everyone wanted to hear from one man.
For the first time since signing with the Lakers in July, LeBron James fielded questions from the Los Angeles media. The four-time MVP spoke about his expectations for the season, the Lakers’ playing style and his new teammates.
Below is a transcript of James’ session.
On his excitement for playing for a historic franchise, and what his free-agency meeting with Magic Johnson was like:
James: “The excitement around the game for me in general, no matter what uniform I’m in — I’m just always humbled that I’m able to play the game at this level. I think we all know, and it can speak for itself, that this has been a historic franchise in this league for years. We don’t even have to talk about the years they won championships, talk about the players that’ve come through this franchise, worn this uniform. That’s excitement in its own right. And then it’s just always humbling for me any time I get an opportunity to be a part of something special. I believe the conversation I had with Magic that night was a special night. I’m happy to be in this point today.”
On moving from one city to another:
James: “It’s always challenging when you move, no matter if you do it as a professional or in you’re doing it adolescent days, which I did a lot. Moving from place to place is something I’ve been accustomed with, especially growing up where I come from. It’s more challenging for your family and your friends that take a leap, take a change as well. It’s an uncomfortable position for them in the beginning, uncomfortable for me as well. Just learning new streets, learning new routes, learning new people, being around a different environment. It’s always a learning experience when you have to change locations. It’s an adjustment that myself, my friends, my family with all adjust to because we have each other.”
On his personal expectations:
James: “My expectation is to try to get better every single day. I don’t expect nothing. You work for what you want. You can’t expect anything. For me it’s all part of the process. We don’t know. It’s unknown. The unknown is what to expect at the end of the road. I don’t ever base anything off that. What I know I can bring to the table is being committed to having excellence every day, from a mind-set standpoint from how I prepare to go out and play. Everything else will take care of itself.”
On whether he can only consider the season successful if the Lakers win a championship:
James: “I don’t believe the only (mark) of success is winning a championship. There’s only one champion, but that doesn’t mean you’re not successful. There’s gonna be wins and losses and things of that nature. But what you can control is how you prepare every day. How we prepare every day to get better every day. We’re a new ball club coming together. Obviously they have some returning guys, but as far as the ball club we’re all new to each other. We have to take our bumps and our bruises. There are going to be good times and bad times. That’s what happens with a team that’s new. But if we continue to work the process and continue to sacrifice for one another and put in the commitment and the time to be great, everything will fall into place as I’ve said before.”
On how he sees him fitting in the Lakers’ high-paced playing style:
James: “My game does not change no matter who I’m alongside. I believe my game can fit with anybody. I’m a team-first guy. I love passing the ball, love sharing the ball. And then watching these guys from the outside looking in, the level of pace that they play with I’m excited about. I love running up and down and things of that nature. I think Luke and the coaching staff will let us know what they would like from us to be great. We have to practice that and implement that every single day in order to accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
On how he made the decision to come to the Lakers:
James: “I have a team, and we all come together. We’ve done this before. We mark out all the pros and the cons, and then at the end of the day it’s kind of up to myself and my family. We made a decision that this is our next journey. This is our next path. I was able to make the decision to come here. Truly excited about this opportunity.”
On what he thinks he can learn from his young teammates:
James: “I’m always in a learning process. No matter where I’m at in my career, I’m always at a point where I want to learn and get things from teammates and coaches and things of that nature. I’m looking forward to seeing what we all can bring to the table and how we can all bounce ideas and bounce things off one another in order to better our games, both on the floor and mentally as well.”
On balancing business opportunities and basketball:
James: “My decision was based solely on my family and the Lakers. I’m a basketball player. I play ball, that’s what I do. That’s what I live by, and when I do it the way I do it, everything takes care of itself. As far as my business, that took care of itself way before I became part of the Lakers franchise.”
On what makes him feel pressure at this stage of his career:
James: “Nothing. (Smiles). Nothing.”
On how the Lakers measure up against the Golden State Warriors:
James: “We have a long way to go to get to Golden State. They can pick up right where they left off, starting with training camp if they start today, or whenever they start. We’re picking up from scratch so we have a long way to go. We can’t worry about what Golden State is doing. Golden State is Golden State and they’re the champions. They’ve been together for a few years. So we put that to the side. We can only focus on what we can do to get better as the Lakers franchise. Hopefully some day we can put ourselves in a position to compete for a championship as Golden State has done for the last few years.”
On how the Lakers’ roster meshes together:
James: “It’s definitely exciting, for sure. You see how many ball handlers, guys that can do multiple things, pass, shoot, rebound, put the ball on the court, and get out and run. It’s going to be fun to see how I can implement myself into that, and we all implement each other and get the best out of each other. Tomorrow is like the first day of school. You know what to expect, but at the same time you don’t know what to expect with me being my first time here with this franchise and this system as well. I’ll look forward to seeing how I can work and how we can work together.”
On teaming up with Rajon Rondo:
James: “He’s always been one of the most cerebral players, smartest players that I’ve competed against. And one of the most competitive guys I’ve competed against. He knows everything that’s going on on the floor, he knows everything you’re doing, everything the team is doing, all the strengths and the weaknesses. Sometimes when you see yourself in someone on the opposing side that's where you think someday it would be crazy if you ever teamed up and joined forces with that type of cerebral mentality when you know exactly what's going on every possession. It’s going to be a cool moment when I step on the floor with him, just knowing that the things he’s seeing are the things that I’m seeing, without us having to say anything. There’s not many of us in this league that can actually think and prepare with our minds before we even step on the floor and actually play the game like the two of us.”
Los Lakers reporter Rodrigo Azurmendi contributed to this transcript.