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Appearing on the Road Trippin' podcast, James
expressed concerns for NBA players competing against someone who
was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
"So what happens when a guy who is tested positive for corona
and you're out there on the floor with him and it's a loose
ball?" James said on the 51-minute podcast, which was hosted by
former Cleveland Cavaliers teammates Richard Jefferson and
Channing Frye as well as current Lakers studio host Allie
Clifton.
James also expressed displeasure with the notion of playing
games without fans, which likely would be the NBA's first step
back to action since it suspended the season earlier this month.
"What is the word 'sport' without 'fan'?" the four-time NBA MVP
asked. "There's no excitement. There's no crying. There's no
joy. There's no back-and-forth. There's no rhyme or reason that
you want to go on the road and just dethrone the home team
because of their fans and vice versa.
.".. That's what also brings out the competitive side of the
players to know that you're going on the road in a hostile
environment and yes, you're playing against that opponent in
front of you, but you really want to kick the fans' (backside)
too."
While James provided tongue-and-cheek responses to how he will
handle physical interaction with the fans -- "I ain't
high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this
(expletive)" -- he appeared to take a more direct tone when
discussing the idea of starting the NBA playoffs upon return to
action.
"One thing you can't just do is go straight to the playoffs,"
James said. "Because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys
had fighting for that position."
--Field Level Media
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