During the NBA’s brief boycott earlier this week, it appeared that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was a driving force behind turning the boycott into more permanent predicament.
Reports indicated that he was in favor of cancelling the season outright. As it turns out, James wasn’t necessarily advocating for the season to end, but simply wanted to make sure that he and his fellow players were making the most of their newfound bargaining power.
James opened up about the thoughts that went through his mind in the hours following Wednesday’s boycott announcement.
“When I went to bed, I had major reservations about playing,” James told Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “It wasn’t what they (the Milwaukee Bucks) said; we heard what they said. It was, What the f— are we going to do now? Are we just going to go back out there and play again, after all of this, with no plan? Nah. What was the plan?
“I woke up Thursday morning and I came up with a plan.”
James admitted to leaving Wednesday night’s player meeting abruptly, but wanted to clarify that he was not mad about the fact that the Bucks decided to boycott their game that was scheduled earlier in the day.
“After they (the Bucks) did that, and we knew why — (the shooting of Jacob Blake by Wisconsin police) was in their own backyard — we couldn’t go out and play. There was no way,” James said. “That was it.”
Rather, James simply wanted to make sure that he and his colleagues were taking advantage of the opportunity.
“If we don’t have a plan, then what are we talking about? Why are we still here,” James asked after the Lakers’ series-clinching win over Portland Saturday.
Luckily, a plan was made. One major aspect of the resolution includes the creation of a social justice coalition among players, coaches and members of teams’ front offices. On top of that, NBA arenas will be turned into polling places for the upcoming presidential election.
Finally, ads will now run during playoff games advocating for civic engagement and voting access.
James seems to be satisfied with the changes they’ve been able to make.
“It means everything,” he said.
The playoffs started back up on Saturday, with the Lakers clinching a series win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5, 131-122. James recorded an epic triple-double in the game, with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
