During the zoo-like atmosphere at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Media Day, LeBron James and his new and old teammates faced a phalanx of cameras and microphones (something they should probably get used to.)
James rehashed what his expectations are heading into the new season, what drove him to return, and claimed basketball had nothing do with all that weight loss this summer.
Per the AP:
“I still have a lot to prove because of expectations I put on myself,” James said. “I ask more of myself than anybody can ever ask of me. My expectations are still high, but I am more patient now than I was four years ago. I understand what it takes to win a championship. I understand winning a championship is the hardest thing you could ever do. I’ve been two up and two down in four years. […] I went from crying tears of joy to tears of frustration. I know it all. I know what it takes.”
“I asked them first,” James said about discussing his return to Cleveland with his two sons LeBron James Jr. and Bryce James. “I didn’t explain it to them; they explained it to me. I was like, ‘What do you think about daddy going back home to play? “They were like, ‘Home? You’re talking about Cleveland?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.'” […] “It was like, ‘OK, you get to play with Kyrie Irving?’ I was like, yeah,” James said. “They were like, ‘We getting to go back home to our house and getting back to my old school and my old friends?’ I was like, yeah. They were like, ‘OK, you can do it.’ And that’s how it went.”
James also explained his recent weight loss — he went on a strict two-month diet — was a personal challenge. […] “It had nothing to do with basketball,” he said. “I’m 29 years old, and I can still fly above the rim. I don’t need to lose weight to do that.”
