Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is content with what he's achieved over the first 15 seasons of his NBA career. And why not? Three Larry O'Brien trophies, four MVP awards, eight consecutive trips to the Finals, and a host of other individual and team accomplishments make his existing resumé a compelling piece of evidence in the greatest-of-all-time discussion. Still, the prosperity James has enjoyed hardly means he's satisfied. But after more than a decade at or near the top of the league, with the many accolades to show for it, the 34 year old is simply past the point of measuring success in championships.
James did his best to convey that message on Thursday, after making headlines earlier this week by saying that any forthcoming triumphs over the remainder of his career will merely be “icing on the cake” to those he's already celebrated.
“First of all, I want to win every single day,” he said, as noted by 247 Sports' Michael Kaskey-Blomain. “Every single night I prepare to be the best. It’s not like I wake up every single day and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, if I don’t win a championship, if I don’t make it to the All-Star Game, then my career isn’t what I want it to be.'
“For me, every moment, I don’t take for granted every time I get an opportunity to play the game. I play it at the highest of my ability. I’m not in the fashion of, ‘If I can’t do this individually, or if I can’t do this…then my career is a failure.'”
These comments certainly support James' decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers, who had no superstar on the roster when he signed in July and remain without a viable championship sidekick after the trade deadline. James, 16 seasons in, is simply at a different place mentally in his career than he's ever been before.
Does that mean he doesn't want to win another title? Hardly, as the Lakers' continued pursuit of star players – and James' recruitment of them, implicit or otherwise – suggests.
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