The doubts from a few summers ago, or even last summer, still linger in the mind of LeBron James. But there is one doubt, that he has heard for a lot longer than the past few summers, which stood out to James on Monday afternoon when he spoke to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers practice: the doubts that LeBron could reach the same heights in the Western Conference than he did in the East. While he did not mention him, it’s clear that he believes this is a feather in his cap in MVP debates against the reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. But it’s also bigger than Giannis, because playing in the East was something often used to discredit LeBron’s resume as well.
A few minutes after his statement, he also made it clear this isn’t about Giannis, but more about the things he’s heard for the majority of his career. Fair or not to Giannis or the East, given that the Bucks have the best record in the NBA and the Toronto Raptors are still the defending champions, LeBron let everyone know he hasn’t forgotten about the doubts many had about whether he could perform at the same level in the Western Conference.
While it wasn’t a straight line to the success of this season and took a major overhaul, as well as plenty of uncomfortable moments, LeBron has proven those who thought the Lakers wouldn’t be an elite team in the NBA brutally wrong. But as James himself knows, the regular season success of the Lakers won’t mean nearly as much unless he performs in the West playoffs too.
