Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2010 season. LeBron James will be heading to his 10th NBA Finals and after the win, LeBron had a lot on his mind.
When he announced he was signing with the Lakers in the summer of 2018, the late, great Kobe Bryant and James had plans to break bread and discuss the ins and outs of Los Angeles, the Lakers franchise and what would be expected of him upon his arrival, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Due to the conflicting and chaotic schedules of each superstar, the two could never establish a firm date. Each time they came across one another, the meeting was brought up, but it kept getting put on the backburner.
It’s something that still bothers James to this day:
“Of course, you think there’s going to be time for us to get together and I understand that there are regrets in life, but I definitely wish I had that moment with him,” James told Yahoo Sports. “I do remember when I decided to come here, he sent me a text right away and said, ‘Welcome, brother. Welcome to the family.’ That was a special moment because at the time, Laker faithful wasn’t [fully in on me]. A lot of people were saying, ‘Well, we might not want LeBron at this point in his career,’ and, ‘Is he right? Is he going to get us back [to the Finals]?’ So to hear from him and get his stamp of approval, it meant a lot. I don’t ever question myself, but when it’s coming from Kobe, it definitely meant a lot.”
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