In 20 seasons in the NBA, LeBron James has established himself as one of the best leaders the league has ever seen. This comes from his strong locker room presence and experience gained over the years.
When it comes to the locker room, James considers it as sacred as NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick. James posted JJ Redick’s comments on his Instagram Story, which are consistent with his stance on Sander’s viral comments.
“Can’t say it any better,” James said. “Straight facts.”
From LeBron James and JJ Redick’s perspective, he believes locker room discussions are private and should not be recorded or even posted on social media. Sanders’ comments were a motivational speech for his team as he pointed out how players should stay competitive against other elite competition on the schedule.
His comments immediately went viral, citing Joel Embiid’s absence on March 28 as an example and how he, like fans, would like to see a matchup with Nikola Jokic.
Before LeBron James, Joel Embiid missed last season’s March 28 game against Nikola Jokic
In the case of the NBA, the league implemented load management to better protect players from injury or serious injury. This is also done to better extend players’ active status over the course of an 82-game season, just in time for the playoffs.
That was the case when Joel Embiid sat out a regular-season game against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on March 28. Embiid reportedly missed the game with soreness in his right calf, according to AP reporter Arnie Stapleton.
In the end, the Nuggets won the game with a score of 116-111. Nikola Jokic led the way for the Denver Nuggets, finishing with 25 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists on 8-of-11 shooting.
At the time, former 76ers head coach Doc Rivers addressed the absence of his star player.
“He’s been complaining about it,” Rivers said. “Today in shootaround, he just didn’t like the way he was moving and it wasn’t a hard decision for us.”
Although Embiid missed the game due to injury, the 76ers star received numerous criticisms for his absence, including from Deion Sanders. This is the same treatment LeBron James gets when he misses a game.
Most recently, James decided to sit out the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2023 preseason opener on October 7 against the Golden State Warriors.