LeBron James On Reinvigoration After The Covid Season
LeBron James says the Lakers roster has a renewed energy about it ahead of the new NBA season.
When the Lakers won their first title in 19 years in 2020, they did so in a void. A bubble, to be precise. It wasn’t the procession they would have imagined and worked so hard for.
The shortest turnaround between seasons in history followed that anticlimax, and the Lakers suffered. Every NBA team suffered, as did every elite sports league from the NFL to the Premier League.
The result of the Covid-19 disruptions was that two seasons practically bled into one. The players didn’t even have the energy of a crowd to reinvigorate their sluggish bodies and minds.
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“Just the energy,” LeBron James said. “Last year after coming off the bubble it literally took everything away from you. Any little bit of energy that you had, it was completely gone when we left there. … To come back into the season with the quick start that we had, kind of the life of the party was a little bit, just like, it was just kind of stale. You know, rightfully so. Guys just didn’t have an opportunity to get a mental break.
“You could definitely feel the energy shift a lot more in this season the first two practices compared to last.”
While major sports accomplished a great feat by continuing to play, it was only a shadow. As fans begin to return to stadiums around the world, we are realising the excitement and atmosphere that was missing.
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However, the NBA is some ways away from returning to full-capacity stadiums. The vaccine argument looks set to be an overarching controversy that could potentially strangle the season.
LeBron James has advocated for the vaccine, but he is in no way in the majority. Avoiding Covid disruptions could well be the difference between a winning year and a losing year.
