LeBron James Reveals His Inner Demons in Candid Sports Illustrated Interview

LeBron James has endured a lot of flak since he made the decision to take his talents to South Beach in the summer of 2010.

In an interview with Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, James revealed exactly how the negative reactions to that haunting decision—and the subsequent failure in the NBA Finals—have shaped him as a human being.

On the choice that seemed to go against everything that the superstar stood for, James said:

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I lost touch with who I was as a basketball player and a person. I got caught up in everything that was going on around me, and I felt like I had to prove something to people, and I don't know why. Everything was tight, stressed.

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When he locked himself in his Coconut Grove estate for weeks after the Dallas Mavericks won the championship last season, LeBron leaned hardest on himself for support and motivation. James said that he told himself:

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This is what you love to do and you've been doing it at a high level for a long time, and you don't really need to change anything. Just get back to what you do and how you play, smiling all the time and trying to dominate at the highest level. Do it with joy and do it with fun and remember that not too long ago this was a dream for you. Playing in the NBA was the dream. Don't forget that again. Just go out and improve.

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That is exactly what the Miami Heat star has done this season.

James is averaging 27.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 6.2 APG and shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 36.2 percent beyond the arc. He’s a shoo-in to win his third NBA MVP award and possibly Defensive Player of the Year as well.

He has garnered all of these individual accolades while carrying his squad to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and has the Heat in great position to get back to the NBA Finals and quite possibly win it all. 

That last accomplishment is the only one James cares about.

He knows that rings don’t come easy and believes he was humbled for a reason last June. He compared it to something that is more important than a championship: his family. James said:

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My father wasn't around when I was a kid and I used to always say, 'Why me? Why don't I have a father? Why isn't he around? Why did he leave my mother?' But as I got older I looked deeper and thought, 'I don't know what my father was going through, but if he was around all the time, would I be who I am today?' It made me grow up fast. It helped me be more responsible. Maybe I wouldn't be sitting here right now.

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Maybe LeBron wouldn’t be an MVP this season if he didn’t lose last year. Maybe he wouldn’t be as hungry and motivated for a title.

If he gets the weight off his shoulders and the elephant out of the room by hoisting a banner to the American Airlines Arena rafters, King James will finally have his crown and become "The Chosen One."