As the Lakers boarded their plane to Orlando on Thursday, the team was overcome with emotion. The prospect of leaving his family for months after getting to spend more time with them than ever at this time of year had LeBron James feeling like he was headed away to prison. Head coach Frank Vogel had a hard time giving his wife and daughters one last hug goodbye. JaVale McGee was more worried about leaving his girlfriend and daughter than he was about the risk of coronavirus.
The team plane didn’t help things feel much better.