LeBron Says Every Season He Didn't Make NBA Finals or Win Title is 'a Disappointment'
After another early playoff exit following Wednesday's Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James candidly spoke about not living up to his own standards.
"For me, since my first NBA Finals appearance in 2007, the moment I got an opportunity to be a part of that and taste that feeling, from there on, every season that I did not make it to the Finals or did not win the championship has been a disappointment," he told reporters (0:18 mark). "So, it'll be the same for me, it will be the same offseason of disappointment and unfulfillment."
The four-time NBA champion hasn't made it back to the NBA Finals since he led the Lakers to the title in 2020. Since then, Los Angeles has been eliminated in the first round three times, and the team missed the playoffs entirely in 2022. A run to the 2023 Western Conference Finals was the last bit of postseason success since the 2020 championship.
At 40 years old, James is still performing at a high level, but showed signs of fatigue against the Timberwolves after shouldering a hefty workload. He played 40 minutes on Wednesday and had 22 points while shooting 9-of-21 from the field.
James admitted after the loss that he's uncertain about whether he will be back for a 22nd NBA season.
"Just continuing to play, I don't know where I'm at," James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "That's what that is. Not coming back to play here. Just playing, period."
