On February 20, Beijing time, Lakers star LeBron James was interviewed by the media on The All-Star Weekend. In the interview, he talked about this year's All-Stars in Cleveland in addition to Garland and Allen, as well as himself. In addition, James also talked about a lot of topics, saying that Doncic's way of playing reminded him of himself, and praised the Thunder's MVP as general manager Presti.
Speaking about Cleveland hosting this year's All-Star, James said, "Cleveland deserves a moment like this, they have two All-Stars of their own: D.G. (Garland) and big man Janet Allen, and they have another guy in this All-Star, and that's me. That's great, bro. James's remarks quickly caused heated discussion, after all, his current identity is a Lakers star, of course, he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the first championship in team history, which is also a fact.
Interestingly, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, James specifically emphasized that he was from Akron, not Cleveland. James said: "People always say, '(Back to Cleveland) you're going home.'" But I keep telling people, 'I'm not from Cleveland.' There's nothing disrespectful about Cleveland, but when you're from Akron, you're not from Cleveland. I'm from Akron. ”
James also joked that the All-Star Game was the only game he wouldn't complain about playing time. So far this season, James has played 41 games for the Lakers, averaging 36.8 minutes per game, which is really too tiring for a 37-year-old veteran. After joining the Lakers, the last three times he has participated in the All-Star, James's playing time has been declining, in 2019, James played 26 minutes and 32 seconds, in 2020 All-Star, he played 18 minutes and 48 seconds, while last year's All-Star, James only played 13 minutes.
James mentioned Doncic in the interview. "The way he plays reminds me of the way he plays. We're all triple threats, we can grab rebounds, we can pass, it's the top priority in our heads. If you don't respect us, we'll give you a 40 points in a single game. ”
He also praised Thunder's general manager Presti. "The MVP of that team is Sam Presti. I don't understand what this guy really thinks about talent. He picked Durant, Westbrook, Jeff Green, Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Gidey, and this guy is amazing. "Soon some fans found out that James listed a bunch of names and didn't mention Harden.
In the All-Star captain selection process, neither James nor Durant took the initiative to choose Harden, and in the end, Harden automatically classified into the James team. However, Harden soon chose to quit the All-Star due to injury, replaced by Janet Allen.