LeBron James is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
He's a four-time NBA champion, a four-time MVP and a four-time Finals MVP.
But he still feels as though he has something to prove.
After leading the Lakers to their first championship in 10 years on Oct. 11, he acknowledged that he uses that feeling as motivation.
"I think personally thinking I have something to prove fuels me," James said. "It fueled me over this last year and a half since the injury. It fueled me because no matter what I've done in my career to this point, there's still little rumblings of doubt or comparing me to the history of the game and has he done this, has he done that? So having that in my head, having that in my mind, saying to myself, why not still have something to prove? I think it fuels me."
James led the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers to The Finals eight-straight seasons before joining the Lakers in 2018. He then missed the playoffs as he struggled with a groin injury that sidelined him 17-straight games.
Critics wondered if the 35-year-old James was too old to lead the Lakers to a title. They wondered if he could find the same success in the Western Conference that he had in the East.
James took that personally.
He responded with an MVP-caliber season, averaging 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and a league-leading 10.2 assists as he led the Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the first time since 2010.
He then averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the playoffs, leading the Lakers to their record-tying 17th NBA championship.
He gained the respect of Lakers fans, who don't care what a player has accomplished before putting on the storied purple and gold jersey. And he erased the asterisk that plagued him his career by winning in the West.
He proved all of the doubters wrong.
And he's likely hoping they'll find something to say he can't do next season.
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October 27, 2020 at 03:22AM
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LeBron James Says Feeling As Though He Has Something To Prove Drives Him - Sports Illustrated
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