Lakers' LeBron James Says He Seeks out a 'LeBron Hater' Before Games for Motivation
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James provided some insight this week into how he motivates himself before games.
On Friday's episode of The Shop: Uninterrupted, James revealed that he sometimes looks for a detractor in the stands to get himself pumped up for games (beginning at the 17:24 mark):
"I go out on the floor during warm-ups and I'll just be looking for a LeBron hater. I just need one of them. I'll be like, 'Please, let me find this one LeBron hater. I need it.' In the crowd, for warm-ups, it's like 20 minutes before the game starts and I'm just looking like, 'Oh, I found this motherf--ker. Oh yeah, I'm ready. I'm gonna be ready to go tonight.'"
LeBron suggested that looking for haters is something he only does on occasion when he needs a pick-me-up before games after getting a poor night's sleep or going through something that prevents him from being locked in.
It is safe to say that LeBron's motivational tactics have worked well over the years given that he has established himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
The 37-year-old veteran has spent 19 seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers, and during that time he has earned 18 All-Star selections, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA championships and four NBA Finals MVP awards.
Few can measure up to those accolades, with Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell being among that elite group alongside James.
Additionally, LeBron is third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind only Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, and since he is less than 2,000 points behind Kareem, it seems almost certain that he will claim the top spot at some point.
Given all the success LeBron has enjoyed over the years, it is tough to argue with his methods, although they haven't necessarily worked out well this season.
James is as productive as ever with averages of 28.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, but that hasn't translated into much team success.
The Lakers are a disappointing 27-35 on the season, placing them ninth in the Western Conference. Los Angeles is also just two games ahead of the 11th-placed Portland Trail Blazers for a spot in the postseason play-in tournament.
Part of the reason for the Lakers' struggles is the fact that Anthony Davis has missed significant time due to injury. That has been especially damaging lately, as the Lakers are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
A LeBron-led team is always a threat to do damage come playoff time, however, and if James can find ways to motivate himself and the Lakers as a whole, they are likely still a team that the opposition would rather not face during the postseason.
