Roman Reigns Talks Leukemia Diagnosis, LeBron James, Lakers, More on 'First Take'

WWE Superstar Roman Reigns appeared on ESPN's First Take on Tuesday to discuss entering remission from leukemia, as well as the state of his favorite sports teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Francisco 49ers. 

After announcing that his leukemia had returned in October, Reigns revealed in February on Raw that he was in remission and ready to return to the ring.

On First Take, Reigns said that opening himself up aided him during his fight against cancer:

"It's OK to lean on people. It's OK to accept that support. For the longest time I felt like I was on an island. I felt very insecure and I didn't know how everyone would react. Especially being a public figure, a performer, I never wanted anyone to think that I was trying to make this benefit my performance or my career. I wanted people to respect me for the work that I've put in and the performer that I am, but sometimes life throws a wrench at you and it's not exactly how you plan. It put me at a crossroads to where I had to figure out if I wanted to continue to keep this secret of mine or tell my story and be able to connect with those who might be able to lean on it and use it as an inspiration."

Reigns also credited early detection with helping him get into remission, and he urged those watching to get checked as well.

In addition to his success as a four-time world champion and four-time WrestleMania main-eventer, Reigns was a star football player at Georgia Tech and later had stints in the NFL and CFL. He is a lifelong sports fan who primarily supports the Lakers and 49ers.

Reigns was asked about the Lakers' struggles this season with a 32-41 record despite signing LeBron James, and he offered his take on why L.A. has failed to live up to expectations:

"LeBron has been so good over the years that the statement has been, 'If LeBron is on your team, you're going to the Finals.' That's a huge responsibility and sometimes it's not fair to him. He's had an unbelievable career, but it's time that everybody around him steps up. He's not a spring chicken, he's not a young man anymore. He's been doing it for a long time, grinding for many years, so I think everyone has to step up and step up to his level, but I think it goes on the team."

Reigns was also asked whether James is still the best player in the world, and while he didn't commit to that being the case, he expressed his belief that LeBron is at least among the "top three" players in the NBA.

While the Lakers are set to miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, they have a chance to change that if they can sign or trade for another star player to play alongside James.

When asked about whether James and President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson might struggle to attract another star, Reigns said he believes "the culture is there" in L.A. and he is hopeful that a young star will want to join two men who he says "want to win at the highest level" and have a killer instinct.

Like the Lakers, the 49ers have struggled in recent years with no playoff appearances since 2013.

Reigns spoke at length about Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2018. Reigns said Garoppolo needs to be called "Jimmy Sideline" instead of Jimmy G due to the importance of getting out of bounds rather than taking a big hit to preserve his health.

He added that he has "high expectations" for the 49ers in 2019, but also acknowledged that there is "a lot of work to do."

Expectations will also be high for Reigns at WrestleMania 35 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as he will face Drew McIntyre in his first singles match since making his return from the leukemia diagnosis.

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