LeBron James has been active on social media
to pass the time amid the NBA’s ongoing hiatus for the coronavirus pandemic.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s antics have been a welcome distraction during these strange times, although it merits noting he’s been engaged in inspirational acts as well.
What James has not done since the league shut down was to speak at any length about the NBA’s unprecedented suspension of the season, not to mention what will come next once play resumes.
That all changed with James’ appearance on the Road Trippin’ Podcast released Thursday and hosted by former teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, along with current Lakers studio host Allie Clifton.
Specifically addressing the notion of playing games without fans in arenas — something he railed against before the league halted play — James made it clear such a “weird dynamic” does not resonate with him one bit.
“What is the word ‘sport’ without ‘fan?’ ” James asked, as transcribed by Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “There’s no excitement. There’s no crying. There’s no joy. There’s no back-and-forth. There’s no rhyme or reason that you want to go on the road and just dethrone the home team because of their fans and vice versa.”
How the NBA will handle the resumption of the season — if and when that happens or whether the league moves right to the playoffs — remains to be seen. James believes five to 10 games would be needed, saying the league cannot “go straight to the playoffs.”
Perhaps even more interesting was James’ comments about how he intends to completely change his behavior once the league returns to action.
“I ain’t high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this s—,” James said. “No more high-fiving. After this corona s—? Wait ’til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this s—.”
James’ remarks seemed to be made in a joking manner, but there is no doubt that once the world comes out the other end of the COVID-19 pandemic — whenever that indeed occurs — life as we know it may never be the same.
