LeBron James expressed what he is willing to put his body through to win the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Soon to turn 39 years of age and competing in his 21st season, the 19-time All-Star is still operating at an elite level and has played a pivotal role in the Los Angeles Lakers reaching the final of the inaugural competition. The four-time champion’s passion and desire for the game was on full display as he was seen taking a charge from the powerful New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson in the first quarter of their semi-final.
He took two more hard hits in the second quarter as he put his body on the line for his teammates. When asked post-game whether he's too old to be drawing contact in that manner, James mentioned the prize money at stake for the winners of the In-Season tournament as an inspiration behind his willingness to go all-out for victory.
"Listen man, not for that 500, I ain't," the Lakers star said. He was referencing the fee of $500,000 on offer for each player on the winning team.
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James' 30 points, eight assists and five rebounds contributed to a dominant 133-89 victory over the Pelicans at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. The league’s highest-ever points scorer made nine of his 12 shots, including scoring all of his three-pointers, while committing zero turnovers.
The forward’s comments contemplating retirement after the Lakers’ humbling elimination from the 2023 Playoffs now seem like a distant memory, as James continues to play some excellent basketball. "If you decide to retire, or whatever the case may be, you're not a part of it anymore, so it wouldn't be me leaving it on the table because I would have never had the table set," he told ESPN.
"But I'm happy that I'm here. This is a pretty cool moment, and let's see if we can capitalize on it. It's been good. It's been dope." The Lakers continue to ride a wave of confidence and after losing five of their first eight games of the season, they’ve won three in a row and seven of their last 10. They are now fourth in the Western Conference and have a shot at becoming the first team to win the NBA Cup.
James scored 30 points as the Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans to reach the In-Season Tournament final (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)However, the rampaging I ndiana Pacers stand in their way of success this weekend. Led by Tyrese Haliburton, they upset the Boston Celtics in the quarter-finals and backed up that victory by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks to reach the final. "We've got to finish our breakfast on Saturday," James said, referencing a Jay-Z lyric that describes finishing a job. "That's the most important thing."
Providing his thoughts on the new tournament, Lakers coach Darvin Ham added: "This time of the year you tend to - you don't want to admit it -- but teams tend to sleepwalk through some of these games. So for the league to infuse this tournament at this point and time of the year, I thought it was brilliant.
“Now being here in Vegas, it's definitely a really thick electricity that's happening that's reverberating all the way through the arena, through the teams. Everybody is excited to try to give it their best shot."
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