We caught LeBron James on UNINTERRUPTED yesterday, speaking on his new school opening in Akron, OH and his brief thoughts on joining the Los Angeles Lakers, but it was all a set-up for his interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols today, who interviewed him as the doors to The I Promise School opened.
She’s never one to shy away from the big questions and she asked LBJ all of the things we’ve been wondering about since he made the move to L.A.
What he thinks of Magic Johnson signing the likes of Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee, how he will fit with the young core of players the Lakers already had, playing in the Western Conference where the road to the NBA Finals will be that much harder since the teams on that side of the league are all stacked.
James said the new guys all have a love for basketball and the team will do better than people expect. He also called playing out west, “a challenge” and something he strives to succeed at. He knows the Lake Show have not been to the playoffs in a few years, there will be ups and downs but knowing he can get the franchise back to that championship level is what he wants to do. LeBron also told ESPN that he weighed out all his options (going to Houston, Philly, etc.) but that this was the best decision for him and his family and joining a historical franchise is what he wanted to do.
The I Promise School in Akron, OH
He also doesn’t think this year with the Lake Show will be a “rebuilding” year, that the free agents the team got in the summer all love to play basketball and people always doubt his capabilities, so the doubters now don’t affect him.
LeBron also praised the young core and said the organization has done a wonderful job in building the team and he looks forward to playing with them.