Orlando (United States) (AFP)
On September 27, 2019, LeBron James assured him: "you ask me to do something, I can do it".
A year later, he proved it, propelling the Lakers to the NBA final, the tenth of his career that he intends to lead to a 4th title.
That day, during the traditional preseason "media day", "LBJ" nevertheless had an unusual pressure on the shoulders.
He comes out of a white year, his first nine years, he who remained when he arrived in Los Angeles in the summer of 2018 on eight consecutive finals with three coronations at the end, in 2012 and 2013 with Miami, in 2016 with Cleveland.
Blame it on a groin injury contracted in the victorious "Christmas Game" against Golden State, which weighed down the rest of his first season in purple and gold, causing him to miss the play-offs for the third time in his career and in LA an opportunity to immediately reconnect with its glorious past, nine years after his 16th title gleaned by Kobe Bryant.
"I have everything I need to help the team at this stage of my career," he said, looking out of the corner of his eye at newcomer Anthony Davis, knowing that he would not be alone this season to finally achieve its ends.
And to conclude: "we know what our ultimate goal is, but we cannot shorten the process".
- On a mission -
No.
But, he does not know it yet: the fatal fate will take care of lengthening it, in pain and uncertainty, between the death of Kobe Bryant on January 26, in a helicopter accident also fatal to his daughter of 13-year-old Gianna, and the new coronavirus pandemic which interrupted the season on March 11 and almost caused its cancellation.
At that time of winter, LeBron was a man on a mission: having vowed to honor the memory of his glorious elder, he had just beaten Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on a regular basis, as well as Kawhi Leonard and his ambitious Clippers.
Cut off in his tracks, he confided during the resumption of the season on July 31 that this hiatus of four and a half months had not benefited him, contradicting those who imagined the benefits of such a forced rest for a player of 35 years like him.
But he is not like the others.
He does not play like the others, works more than any other and knows how to take his responsibilities like no one else.
The last two games against Denver have been proof of this in different registers, with the victory at the end.
During match N.4, he muzzled Jamal Murray, yet untenable until then, imposing an iron defense in the "money-time".
"It was + winning-time +, I had to intervene," he even said.
And during the N.5 match on Saturday night, when the Nuggets had just erased a 16-point deficit, he pushed back the "comeback kids" with 9 points in a row, to score 16 in the final quarter-time out of its 38 in total.
- "Super star" -
"I don't know if I've ever seen a guy take over a game like he did tonight," his coach Frank Vogel marveled.
"Do not come and tell me that LeBron James is not the MVP of this league after such a performance," tweeted Magic Johnson, reviving the debate on the trophy finally awarded to Antetokounmpo, after a vote that upset "LBJ".
“When he signed with the Lakers he told us he would bring us back to the final and he kept his word. What he did tonight showed the difference between a star and a superstar,” Magic continued. which he approached the triple-double record (30) in the play-offs with a 27th successful in this match.
James will therefore play his tenth final, as only Kareem Abdul-Jabaar (10), Sam Jones (11) and Bill Russell (12) did before him.
“At the moment, it doesn't mean anything unless I win it,” he said.
But if he succeeds and is named MVP of the finals, he will become the first to be so with three different teams.
It won't be Michael Jordan's six titles in eight years with the Bulls, or even Bryant's five, but it will be unique after a unique season, during which his leadership is also evident in the fight against injustice. racial.
"My shoulders are wide enough to take a lot of the pressure. But my spirit is stronger," he said.
© 2020 AFP