EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — For a team that needed a second-half surge just to make the play-in game and then was promptly bounced out of the first round, prompting an offseason coaching change, there was certainly an air of optimism. in the building for the Los Angeles Lakers’ annual media day on Monday.
No one has embodied it more than the 39-year-old LeBron James as he begins his 22nd season, tying Hall of Fame inductee Vince Carter for the most in NBA history.
“I feel damn good,” James said during his news conference. “I had a great summer.”
James had reason to smile as both looked back on winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics with Team USA and being named tournament MVP and looking forward to becoming the first father to team with his son in the league.
LeBron and his 19-year-old son, Bronny, were two of the first Laker players to take the court, happily posing for photos together in their gold Laker uniforms.
“So I feel really good physically. Mentally, I feel really good. Really sharp. Really fresh. Looking forward to work tomorrow. I haven’t thought about what the future holds. Kind of just living in the moment. Especially with Bronny. being here too I don’t want to take this moment for granted.”
Added Bronny: “This is a crazy feeling… Just looking at my dad taking a picture, it was like, ‘What’s going on now?’ [That was] literally my thoughts. Just kind of take it all in. Extremely grateful for the opportunity.”
James, who will turn 40 in December, said he appreciates the tense moments when USA Basketball had to sweat out wins against Serbia in the semifinals and France in the Olympic final — an experience he likened to “two Game 7s back” – to renew his spirit for the sport.
“It was good to play meaningful basketball,” James said. “Going out there at my age, the miles that I have, and being able to play at the level that I played at, it gave me even more of a sense of, ‘Okay, I’ve got a lot in the tank.’ A lot.’ And I can help a big part of a team win the ultimate and whatever — if it’s gold, or if it’s a Larry O’Brien trophy, or whatever the case may be, I can still do it.”
Not that the optimism was so overwhelming that the team was blind to the situation in which it is.
As active as the voluntary offseason training sessions have been, JJ Redick takes over as coach with zero coaching experience. Jarred Vanderbilt (right and left foot procedures), LA’s best perimeter defender, and Christian Wood (left knee sprain), the only stretch 5 on the roster, will both be sidelined for at least several more weeks and will have to watch when practices open. up tuesday
Anthony Davis, who won gold with James and also got a tattoo of the Olympic rings on his left arm like James, admitted that the Lakers will have tough competition.
“The West is tough,” Davis said. “The West has always been tough, you know, 1-15. So for us, we can’t get too excited for a win, too down for a loss. We have to come in and stay even. That continuity helps. , building on last year with the team we had But I think if we’re healthy and we can stay healthy all season, we can be a top team in the West because of the injury bug again, it’s going to be tough.”
Things got so tough for point guard D’Angelo Russell at times last season — butting heads with former coach Darvin Ham, losing his starting spot at one point and then playing well enough to win it back only to struggle in the playoffs — that he acknowledged his uncertain future with the team greeting reporters saying “surprise, surprise” as he took the podium.
“I think for me, honestly, I really want to apologize in the sense of showing a lack of professionalism at times,” Russell, who has been in constant communication with Redick to get that relationship off on the right foot, said. “Showing a lack of team-first perception at times. So for me, just maintaining that maturity and that professionalism throughout the year doesn’t matter the ups and downs. Keeping myself more accountable on the defensive end.”
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said last week that he would need 30 games to evaluate his team to see what adjustments are needed.
In the meantime, the James family will continue to adapt to sharing the workplace.
While Bronny said he’s trained himself to block out the noise of “people who don’t think I should be here,” he’s already gotten comfortable talking trash to his dad.
He told ESPN that the bucket LeBron scored on him during a crossover game last week while playing pick-up basketball at the Lakers’ facility shouldn’t have counted because he believes his father came out ahead of the score.
“The referees who reported that game … he’s in a year whatever it is, so he’s going to get that call,” Bronny told ESPN.
And as for LeBron saying on a recent episode of Uninterrupted’s “The Shop” that Bronny isn’t allowed to call him dad in the workplace?
“Whatever comes out of my mouth when I try to talk to him is what he’s going to accept,” Bronny said.
Never mind the name pledge, LeBron just sounded content to be around his kid.
“Just pure joy, to be honest, to be able to come to work every day, put in the work, hard work with your son every day, and be able to see him continue to grow,” he said. “It gives you a lot of life.”
