Lakers news: LeBron James speaks out on taking responsibility for bringing LA back to NBA Finals

LeBron James has delivered the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals in the year 2020, giving Laker fans around the world a poignant moment.

LeBron James has delivered the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals in the year 2020, giving Laker fans around the world a poignant and meaningful moment months after the death of Kobe Bryant.

LeBron has learned over the years to promise only what he can deliver — not more. Recall the “not one, not two” introductory speech when he came to the Miami Heat. His tenure in South Florida was certainly successful, but a prediction of an all-time dynasty clearly weighed on him in the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, when he faltered in crunch time.

Since then, LeBron James hasn't made outsized promises, and not just with the Lakers.

He promised Cleveland fans that he would deliver a title to the city when he returned to the Cavaliers.

He made a commitment to get the Lakers back to the NBA Finals. He has honored that commitment.

LeBron said more on Saturday after he gave the Lakers their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010:

“My shoulders is wide enough to carry a lot of load, but my mind is stronger.”

– LeBron on helping the Lakers advance to the Finals pic.twitter.com/83X9IWsGNg

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 27, 2020

Lots of athletes talk a good game. LeBron — upon his arrival in Miami — talked a bigger game than he was actually able to live up to. Over the years — with the Cavaliers and now with the Lakers — a man who has always been a great athlete since he entered the NBA has become a noticeably more mature person, a far cry from the confused and anxious bystander who failed to handle the cauldron of the unsettling and oppressive 2011 Finals against the Mavericks.

It is unmistakable that LeBron James the basketball player is still every bit the force of nature with the Lakers that he was in Cleveland and Miami. He is still posting 30-point triple-doubles in the playoffs, still carrying his team, still knowing everyone is out to get him… and prevailing anyway.