NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 2, 2020

LeBron James

Los Angeles Lakers

Game 2: Postgame

Los Angeles Lakers, 124, Miami Heat 114

Q. I believe you would have just finished your junior year in high school, 2002, Kobe and Shaq both go for 30-plus against the Nets, Game 3 of the Finals. You were drafted the next year. You and AD, first time Lakers teammates have done that since then. Wondered your thoughts on the Kobe-Shaq dynamic and what it's like going through a game like today with AD, especially at a similar level of efficiency.

LeBRON JAMES: You know, obviously being in high school, watching the Kobe-Shaq duo was the most dominant duo that I have personally seen in my life from a basketball perspective. Obviously we knew the force that Shaq brought to the table, but the elegance and force that Kobe played with, as well. They were very dominant in what they did on the floor, on both sides of the floor. So to be in the conversation with those two guys, myself and Anthony, myself and AD -- he's going to kill me -- myself and AD, is just very humbling, because I know I grew up watching those guys. I grew up admiring Kobe; obviously, a kid coming straight out of high school. Admired that, as a kid when I was young, and obviously got the opportunity. And the force that Shaq played with. It's very humbling that we can be even mentioned with those greats.

Q. AD and Frank indicated that even though it's a win, they were not totally happy with how things went defensively, especially Frank had mentioned that. Do you agree, and if so, what concerns you?

LeBRON JAMES: I definitely agree. Myself, Coach and AD were not happy with our defensive presence tonight. We know we can be a lot better and we're just, myself and AD, we're not satisfied with just the win. We want to be great. We want to be great, as close to 48 minutes as possible.

I know I said it after Game 1, but I'm extremely excited to watch the film tomorrow, as well as a group, to see ways we can be better. We're playing against a very dangerous team in Miami, where they have five guys on the floor that's a threat, as they have shown tonight.

So we have to continue to stay on our P's and Q's and cross our T's and dot our I's throughout the course of a game, and if we have a breakdown, being able to cover for one another. But they do a great job of putting your defense in positions that you may not be accustomed to.

We definitely were not happy with our performance defensively tonight. Hopefully we can be -- well, we know, not hopefully, we know we can be better in Game 3.

Q. Shaq's a big post presence, a five as much as a five can be. Kobe, perimeter, all that. You and AD seem to have elements maybe of a bit of both of their games. I don't know if you would agree with that, but if you do, could you describe how maybe both of you are a bit of a hybrid of what those guys brought to the court?

LeBRON JAMES: Well, I guess if you look in the sense of the size and the power and the speed that Shaq at his size played with, you could look at my game throughout the course of my career and say that. And then you look at the elegance and the ability to shoot the ball and the ability to play in the paint as well as post up and get to the perimeter, I guess you can say that you can have some of AD's game that could compare to Kobe's game in that sense.

Obviously, all four of us are all different positions. Kobe was a natural 2-guard. I'm kind of a, I don't know, whatever position. Shaq is a center. AD is kind of a hybrid, as well. But I guess all four of us, we have a winning mentality and we just tried to make enough plays out on the floor throughout the course of the game that would benefit not only ourselves individually but for the most important thing, for the better of the team.

I can't even believe I'm up here talking about myself and AD with Kobe and Shaq.

Q. After the Heat timeout with UD, it seemed like there was a turn in momentum and they started attacking aggressively. What do you know about UD that makes him impactful to a bench of players like that, even though he himself is not playing in the game?

LeBRON JAMES: Check his résumé. It's that simple. I mean, he's put in the work. He's been there through everything that the Heat franchise has seen. He's seen it all, done it all. Just check his résumé. There's not many guys that talk about it and also be about it, and he's one of them. If you want to be in the foxhole, that's somebody you want to be in the foxhole with.

Q. You used the word "force" probably six or seven times in the first two answers today. How important has your team's ability to play with force made a difference in these first two games?

LeBRON JAMES: I think I was talking about force because Shaq's name came up. There's no way that you can talk about Shaq and not have that word come up. From the team's perspective, I think we've done a good job of, one, not turning the ball over, but also still being able to play with force, as you would say. Play with tempo offensively, get good looks. Get good looks that we like and, make or miss, live with the results. We have to play with that type of force defensively, but also from the cerebral side, as well. Thinking the game a little bit better as they are going through their offense and their pace and their force, as well. We've got to be a lot better obviously on that side.

Q. When you guys advanced past Denver, Frank was talking about the relationship he has with you, and he said that the buy-in that you had with him as a coach and the immediacy of that buy-in did a lot for this team and where you are right now. What was it about Frank that gave that you immediate buy-in and that you gravitated toward?

LeBRON JAMES: For one, from a competitive standpoint, going against Frank's teams in Indiana when we had our battles and I was in Miami, you understood how well those teams were coached. It starts with the head coach, and the players are an extension of the head coach.

So I had that memory of that, just battling those Indiana Pacers teams. And then for me, I've always been a coachable player throughout my whole life. I've played for multiple coaches and I've always been a coachable player.

So you know, the respect, more importantly, he's the head coach. The head coach should have the respect from all his players, no matter who you are, if you're really serious about trying to make an impact or really trying to do something special. It was just that simple for me personally.