ALL-STAR GAME

February 18, 2024

LeBron James

Western Conference

Press Conference

East 211, West 186

Q. LeBron, you did mention in your pregame limited minutes tonight. How do you feel, especially in light of the ankle that you spoke on?

LeBRON JAMES: I'm feeling okay. I definitely wasn't going to put too much pressure on the game tonight for me physically. I want to try to be as healthy as I can be physically. This last part of the season is very important for us. I got to make sure of that.

Q. LeBron, you said you were going to seek further treatment on the ankle. Will that treatment prevent you from playing Thursday in Golden State? Do you know yet?

LeBRON JAMES: It possibly could. It depends on the recovery process. So possibly, but we will see.

Q. You achieved almost everything a player has dreamed of. What is the great dream for LeBron James? What else are you pursuing?

LeBRON JAMES: Still just my love for the game. I'm not pursuing anything, but my love for the game runs deep. Just trying to give everything I can to the game until I have nothing left, in the sense of just my love.

It's not about the physical or things of that nature. It's just about the pure joy of going out and playing a game that I love. I know I don't have much time left, but while I'm out there, just trying to play with a lot of joy and a lot of fun.

Q. LeBron, 211-186 are things we have never seen in an All-Star Game. You know that Adam and others from the league are talking about making it more competitive. Is this what players want? Is this what you think fans want too?

LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I think it's something we need to figure out. Where is the median? This is what a lot of the games are starting to look like too. We wanted to get more pace into the games. We wanted to get more shots. We wanted the game to be more free flowing. We stopped letting the game -- be freedom of movement, a lot of freedom of movement now. That's what our games are like in the regular season now.

They let us tighten up in the postseason. It's a deeper dive into a conversation of how we can shore up this game. Obviously from a player's perspective, it's fun to get up and down. But at the end of the day, our competitive nature don't like to have free-flowing scoring like that.

But I think the good thing that came out of tonight was none of the players were injured, and everybody came out unscathed or how they were before the game started. So it's a deeper conversation.

Q. LeBron, two really quick for you: There was a social media post going around of you dunking in your first ever All-Star Game. You doing it again tonight, kind of almost the exact same kind of signature one-handed dunk. Big picture, to do this 20 times now that you've done it, how did that sit with you? Also wanted to ask you about the moment you had with Oscar pregame and how important that was for you.

LeBRON JAMES: One, I don't know, man, it's super surreal and super crazy and just very humbled and blessed that I can be able to still perform on the stage at this point in my career and be able to do some of the things that I did 20 years ago. I think that's pretty cool.

I always acknowledge the greats. I understand the greats that came before me and the people that laid down the foundation for this sport to be as great as it is today. I happen to be a recipient of that. Because of Big O and so many other great players, obviously, if anybody know my history, they know how much I admire Big O, not only for what he contributed to the game, but also what he stood for off the floor as well.

We've always had a really cool relationship, and every time I get an opportunity to see him, we just pick it back up where we left off. To see him tonight was a treat for me. I didn't expect to see him. I didn't know he was going to be here. So it was a treat for me to see him again.

Q. LeBron, what kind of improvement have you seen on the game of Victor Wembanyama? And what do you think about his season?

LeBRON JAMES: I've been asked about Victor before, and I just think he's going to continue to get better and better and better and better the more games he plays. He has one of the greatest coaches in basketball history in Coach Pop, and he's going to learn it the right way by just being around Pop. Pop is one of my favorite guys.

The kid is special. He's going to continue to get better and better. If he's doing that at 19 now, just imagine what he's going to look like at 21, 22. So a special kid.

Q. As a historic veteran, seeing players like Banchero and other players coming into their first year as All-Stars, what is that like for you seeing them be established now?

LeBRON JAMES: It's awesome. I remember my first All-Star Game and looking up and seeing the likes of Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett and those guys, and I was just in awe. Just to see guys in their first All-Star Games, like you said, Paolo and the rest of the guys here, it's special. It's special for them.

I think you saw the raw emotion that Jalen Brunson showed when they asked him after a Knick game how he felt being an All-Star. I think you saw the raw emotion, and that's how much he cares about being acknowledged and for him to be a first-time All-Star is just super cool.

To be a part of their moment, because this is their moment, is something I can look back on and be like that was a cool moment.

Q. We spoke this time last year, and you talked pretty eloquently about the common values that you have, one of the game's greats, with a young Filipino kid who's falling in love with basketball in a way that Filipinos very uniquely do. I want to talk about one of those values, the value of hope. You've been through a lot of adversities in your life and in your career. What helps you find silver linings? What helps you maintain hope? And how important is it for you to be a silver lining for people who need it?

LeBRON JAMES: For me, what I find is a silver lining is looking at my upbringing and looking at kids that are in situations that I was in when I was younger, trying to be an inspiration to them, letting them understand that there is a way out. I was one of the kids that made it out.

So it's my responsibility and my duty to let them know that no matter what you're going through, there is a path out. If you just commit to your dream and you can make that dream become a reality. I think that's what it's all about.

I've shared a great relationship with the Philippines and TITAN and us having that -- we share some of the same core values. I always respected that even when I went over there and spent a lot of time in the Philippines in Manila.

Sometimes that's all a kid has is hope, and that's okay. As long as you don't give that up. Don't ever give that up because it's always brighter on the other side, for sure.