LeBron James said he accomplished his goal of “bringing back greatness” to the Los Angeles Lakers organization by winning a championship during his time with the team, also adding that he “doesn’t care” about other people’s feelings toward him.
James made the comments after the Lakers’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, in response to a text published on ESPN by journalist Baxter Holmes.
The latter notably shared information regarding the sale of the Lakers by the Buss family to billionaire Mark Walter in June, including a strained relationship between Jeanie Buss and James.
Holmes detailed in his text tensions between Buss and James upon the star player’s arrival in 2018, since James was “considered a savior for a struggling organization.”
Tensions reportedly came to a head after the failed trade for Russell Westbrook, leading Buss to “privately lose patience” with James not taking responsibility for the deal.
Tensions were so high that according to sources, Buss considered not extending James’ contract in 2022, instead trading him to the Clippers.
James, however, shared a different view of his relationship with Buss.
“I thought it was okay, but you know, someone can see it differently. There are always two sides to every coin… Since I arrived here, I have represented this organization with the utmost respect, honor and dignity. I would also say with loyalty,” James said.
He added that he hasn’t spoken to Buss since the article was published, but he explained that it was never his practice to call owners to talk privately.
“I honestly don’t care about this information. Since I’ve been here, this is my eighth year of my 23 season career, there have always been articles, especially about me. »
“Ultimately, when I arrived in this organization, my mentality was to bring excellence. Things I saw from this organization growing up. I saw the early 2000s with Shaq (O’Neal), then I saw Kobe (Bryant)’s career with Pau (Gasol). My mentality was to bring back that general feeling about the Lakers. I succeeded with 14 or 16 guys, winning the championship. »
Buss made a statement via The Athletic on Wednesday regarding the ESPN article.
“It’s really not fair, considering all the things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he gets dragged into my family drama. It’s wrong and it’s not fair to him. »
