Besides Defensive Player of the Year, LeBron James has won every major individual award in the NBA. He also has four NBA championships with three different franchises, as well as plenty of success with Team USA.
One could make a case for him being the most accomplished player in NBA historyand one of the most successful in all major sports. However, he still feels like he’s got something left to prove.
The Los Angeles Lakers are far from a playoff lock right now, regardless of how well LeBron has played. That’s why he deemed the final stretch of the season ‘the most important games of his career.’
LeBron James Says The Next Are The Most Important Games Of His Career
“It’s 23 of the most important games of my career for a regular season,” James told the media beforethe All-Star Game on Sunday. “I’m going to figure out ways to make sure I’m available and on the floor for every single one of these 23 games. (…)Not being part of the postseason for two years straight, that’s not in my DNA,” James added.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Addresses Load Management
James wants to be available, which is a strange sight among NBA stars nowadays. Recently, Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the controversial load management issue, hoping the new CBA will help with it:
“I think there’s been a societal shift,” Silver said. “Everything’s about winning a championship these days and it’s less, I think in all sports, about how you perform day in and day out. And so it’s a cultural issue as well.”
“There are a few things we’re addressing in collective bargaining, for example, I think we ensure that some of our awards require a minimum number of games be played, that we’re celebrating not just average number of points, but total number of points, that the culture is guys being out on the floor as much as they can,” the Commissioner added.
No athlete should play through injury. But NBA stars are making generational wealth in one year with the one and only requirement of playing basketball. So, maybe, just maybe, they should… You know, actually play.
