LeBron James returns for his 21st season in the NBA, but can the four-time champion still dominate the league?
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00:00 Yeah, LeBron James has been special for the NBA for the first day he came in.
00:05 You know, he's arguably the best player of all time.
00:08 You know, it's hard for anybody to argue against his body of work.
00:13 [MUSIC]
00:31 When LeBron James was drafted by Cleveland, there was a story that you were like seven days old.
00:36 Yeah, I did see that post on ESPN and I was like, "Dang, LeBron, old."
00:39 [Laughter]
00:41 Not the 21-year-old, that's for sure.
00:43 It feels a little bit different getting out of bed every day.
00:46 But, you know, as far as my energy level, I feel pretty good with my energy, though.
00:51 But I'm happy to be returning for another season and helping this team,
00:55 hopefully lead this team to the promised land.
00:57 That's just the goal.
00:58 [MUSIC]
01:01 It's staggering for a player that has 20 years, you know, under the hood already
01:09 and is preparing for 21 like he's a rookie.
01:14 Every team LeBron's played for, it's pretty uniform that his work sets the tone.
01:22 When you see this guy do the things he does in games, you're like, "Man, I wonder what he does when he's not playing."
01:28 And just his--I always talk about preparation with guys, and his preparation and what he does
01:33 and how he takes care of his body and how hard he works each and every day
01:37 really shows why he's one of the best players to step on this court.
01:41 If you want to be great at something, you've got to put in the work.
01:45 There's no substitution for work.
01:47 I put in the work, you know, on the court, off the court, keeping my mind fresh,
01:54 keeping it as fresh as I can, keeping my body as fresh as it can,
01:57 keeping my game as sharp as it can,
01:59 and then just pouring it all to the sport that I've loved for a lot of years now.
02:06 [music]
02:10 Just playing with LeBron James, literally all my friends,
02:12 like that's all they talk about me being on the team is LeBron, like you're playing with LeBron.
02:17 It's just, like I said, surreal playing with just those big-time veterans
02:21 that can coach me and make me a better player and just getting so much feedback
02:27 and just watching what they do, do everything they do and just learn from them.
02:31 You know, I think everybody is coming to the game at some point and being like,
02:35 "Hey, you know, I get to play against LeBron tonight."
02:37 Like, that's crazy, you know, who he's been and, you know, who he is
02:41 and just the legacy that he leaves behind.
02:44 Obviously, he's one of the greatest players that ever played a game.
02:47 He's been in the league for going on 21 years now, so just his knowledge of the game
02:51 and what he can bring to the table for me as well as Max and other guys,
02:54 I think it's going to be good and really beneficial to us.
02:57 An honor for me to be alongside of him and see him be him.
03:02 I wish we got more time together, but definitely was excellent playing alongside of him.
03:07 Yeah, LeBron James has been special for the NBA from the first day he came in.
03:15 And you have to respect the guy that does that.
03:17 He always looks out for the next generation.
03:19 He's been a great vet. He's somebody I got a chance to play alongside of,
03:23 so to have that opportunity to see his greatness up close,
03:26 something I didn't take for granted.
03:28 You know, he's arguably the best player of all time.
03:31 You know, the things that he's done in this league, the amount of success he's had in this league,
03:36 you know, it's hard for anybody to argue against, you know, his body of work.
03:41 He's still averaging 25 points, still playing 30-plus minutes.
03:46 It looks like he hasn't slowed down.
03:48 Well, I feel like he's lost a step, but he's still him at the end of the day.
03:51 He's still the same player. He's still able to be aggressive, get to the basket.
03:55 Is he, like, dunking over people all the time as he used to? No.
03:59 But is he playing smarter now? Yeah. I think he's still just as good.
04:02 I'm happy right now. I'm excited.
04:08 I'm looking forward to tomorrow and getting the training camp going and getting going,
04:13 but I don't know what the end of this road will look like or at the end of this season.
04:17 I have no idea.
04:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]