NBA IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT

December 6, 2023

LeBron James

Los Angeles Lakers

Semifinal Practice Day

Q. What's the main message to the team in a new situation like this? You've been in so many in the NBA but this one is new. How do you proceed going into the semis?

LEBRON JAMES: I don't know, just a game. We'll prepare. We understand what's at stake, being the first In-Season Tournament. But I'm not adding pressure to my teammates. It's still game 24, if I'm not mistaken. It's actually game 23. I'm not adding no pressure to my teammates. We're going to go out and play our game, and win, lose or draw, we'll be all right.

Q. Is there any -- in terms of the preparation that changes for you personally and just kind of the added stakes and competing at this level this early in the season?

LEBRON JAMES: Rest, for me. Coming off that game last night took a lot out of me physically and mentally and things of that nature. Just getting my rest. That's the only thing that I'm concerned about -- or not even concerned, that I've got to worry about.

As far as preparation for the game, that stays the same no matter where I'm at. But just trying to get as much rest as I can.

Q. As a four-time champion, if you were to win on Saturday night, would you like to see a banner in L.A. over the In-Season Tournament?

LEBRON JAMES: That's up to the league. I don't have an answer for that.

Q. As I'm sure you know, there was a tragedy today at UNLV. I'm curious how you found out about it and if that affects the mood getting into Vegas and getting settled with everything coming tomorrow.

LEBRON JAMES: Yeah, my brother from back home texted me and told me to be safe out here because he heard about the shooting at UNLV. First of all, I don't know, was there any casualties or -- first of all, my condolences go to the families that lost loved ones, families and friends and everything.

It just goes back to what I said before about guns in America. I think it's such a longer conversation, but we keep dealing with the same story, this same conversation everybody single time it happens, and it just continues to happen. The ability to get a gun, the ability to do these things over and over and over, and there's been no change is literally ridiculous. It makes no sense that we continue to lose innocent lives, on campuses, schools, at shopping markets and movie theaters and all type of stuff. It's ridiculous. The fact that we haven't changed anything -- it's actually been easier to be able to own a firearm. It's stupid.

Q. Pelicans have a lot of size. How is that going to be for you guys in the particulars of this tournament?

LEBRON JAMES: I mean, you absolutely just said it. They have a lot of length, a lot of size, wings, bigs. Herb Jones, BI, Zion, Valanciunas. They come off with Murphy. They've got just a lot of size, and they're missing Larry Nance. But they've got a lot of size.

The one thing that's been beneficial to us over the last couple games, we've started to add our depth and add our size, too. Being able to bring back Cam, bring back Rui, Vando has played a couple games now, so we've added some size, too. Jax came back, played some minutes for us last night.

We understand their size and their paint attacks. They do a good job of attacking the paint, putting pressure at the rim. We've got to be ready for that. We've got to be ready for it.

Q. Obviously still a couple games left to go, but having been through most of this tournament and seeing how it's played out, are there any things you would like to see the league change about it or tweak about it for next year and beyond?

LEBRON JAMES: I don't know, I haven't thought about it. If I had some time to think about it, I might have a better answer, but haven't really thought about it. We just played the games. When we've had games on Tuesdays and Fridays, we've played them. You kind of know it's a tournament game. Sometimes you kind of forget about it until you get to the arena either at home or on the road and you see the court and then you know it's a tournament game. But I haven't thought about if I would have any changes.

But I mean, if it's not broke, don't fix it, and it seems like it's going really well.

Q. To your point, it seems like across the league, teams and players have bought into this maybe faster than the general public might have expected. Have you felt like this has gotten more momentum internally faster than maybe you would have thought?

LEBRON JAMES: Listen, Adam Silver is a genius, so it's that simple. So it's going to work.

Q. Yesterday the game atmosphere was crazy. A lot of players have been saying this is going to be a home game for you guys. But during that time yesterday you pointed to the crowd, to Bronny. What does it mean having him at the game supporting an In-Season Tournament which is new? And also there was a video of you and AD. People don't realize how cerebral AD is with his IQ. You guys have a lot of moments together, especially with that high-low pass. Talk about those two things.

LEBRON JAMES: First of all, it's not just Bronny at a game; it's Bronny, period. To have the ability to be able to point at him and see him smiling and alive. It's literally that simple, to have that moment with my son knowing the situation that happened earlier in the summer, just to have that -- I'm not saying I took it for granted before, but it puts everything in perspective for sure. That's that.

And then, two, yeah, me and AD, we have that chemistry because it's just bigger than us just going out and dribbling the basketball and saying, okay, let's shoot it up at the rim and try to make a layup or a dunk or a jump shot or free throw or whatever. Very smart, and we've been through so many battles in our five years that we've played together that we can tell each other things or sometimes we can just look at each other and know how either things are going to unfold or how we want to impact a certain play or certain situation throughout the course of a 48-minute game.

Q. A lot of people are listening from Spain right now. I know you are a wine lover. If you had something to celebrate on Saturday, would Spanish wine be in that plan?

LEBRON JAMES: Yeah, if you get some for me. You bring me some Spanish wine, I'll have some.

Q. You've been very vocal about owning a team in Las Vegas in the near future. Are you excited to see the atmosphere this week?

LEBRON JAMES: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's crazy to say this, but Vegas is a sports town. You look at the Aces and you look at the hockey team, you look at the Raiders. I heard the A's are coming here soon. Obviously, Summer League has been here for years. We just had F1 here over Thanksgiving. I mean, it's a sports town. Hopefully I can bring my franchise here someday. That's the ultimate.

Yeah, they know what they're watching. They show a lot of support. Sports is gigantic here right now, and they definitely support their clubs here. That's for sure.