Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James returned to South once again as the for a matchup with the Miami Heat on Monday night. Of course, LeBron is one of the best players in the history of the franchise and won his first two NBA Championships there in 2012 and 2013.
Many would argue that the absolute peak version of James was when he was with the Heat and that 2013 squad did have a 27-game win streak, the second-longest in NBA history to the 1972 Lakers’ 33-game streak.
There are some who believe LeBron’s time in Miami catapulted him into becoming arguably the greatest player of all-time, but James himself isn’t one of them. The Lakers star told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he would have reached this level whether he joined the Heat or not:
“I think I would still be at this level no matter if I would’ve came here or not,” said the Los Angeles Lakers star, now in his 21st season, said. “Let’s not get it twisted: The four years I was here, it was amazing. I loved everything about it. Loved this franchise, this franchise is top tier, it’s one of the best franchises in the world.
“But as far as my career, my career was going to be my career as far as individually, because I know how much I put into the game and I know how much I strived to be as great as I can be. [But] as far as what I was able to learn here was second to none, that’s for sure.”
Furthermore, LeBron would add that he chose to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Heat for the sole purpose of winning championships and believes that was the best move for himself at that point in his career:
“I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to win championships,” James said. “That was my only goal. That was the only reason I teamed up with [Dwyane] Wade and [Chris] Bosh. Because I felt like I couldn’t do it in Cleveland. We couldn’t. … I tried to recruit guys to come to Cleveland. I tried to go and help the upstairs and it wasn’t happening. So I had an opportunity to be a free agent so I did what I thought was best, not only for my career but for me at that point in time.”
Even before he went to Miami, many considered LeBron the best player in the NBA at that point and he was on his way to a legendary career. His time with the Heat was certainly a successful one, but it’s hard to argue that it made him.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praises Lakers’ LeBron James work ethic
One person who knows very well the work that James puts in is Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who was at the helm for both of those championships. And Spoelstra had nothing but praise for the work the Lakers superstar has put in to continue to play at this level in his 21st year.
Spoelstra said LeBron is redefining human performance at that age and it is due to his outstanding work ethic. Spoelstra added that LeBron could probably get away with not working as hard and still be great, but that work ethic is the difference in why he remains so great at this age.
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