When LeBron James chose to join the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, a lot of people speculated that his move wasn’t about basketball, with a common refrain of “he’s only going there to make movies” from those who don’t like — or straight up hate — the purple and gold.
But while James’ entertainment endeavors certainly can’t be dismissed as a factor in his decision-making, it’s also seemed increasingly clear that basketball is very much not falling by the wayside in terms of its importance for James.
James recently re-iterated that his goals for the Lakers beyond winning a title this year are to build “championship habits,” and a story Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka told during “An Evening With The Lakers” on ESPN 710 made it sound like James is already making sure his teammates are ready to win at a high level:
“Now we have one of the most competitive players in the world, and I’ve seen it already in our scrimmages.