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"I feel like I've got a lot more in the tank to
give -- at that moment, I didn't," James said of hinting at
retirement after the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver
Nuggets in the conference finals in May. "At that moment, I
didn't. I was exhausted. I was tired. Mentally, I was in too
many different places.
"That's just how I felt at the moment. But I'm happy to be
returning for another season and hopefully leading this team to
the promised land. That's just the goal."
James said he played with a torn tendon in his foot for the
final month of the regular season and playoffs. With rest and
strength exercises, he said he's fully healthy for his sixth
season with the Lakers and 21st in the NBA.
James has added motivation since the Finals ended, namely the
health of his son, Bronny. Bronny James, a freshman at Southern
California and one of the top-ranked recruits in college
basketball, isn't practicing with the Trojans after a cardiac
incident on July 24 forced him to be hospitalized. LeBron James'
oldest son was diagnosed with "an anatomically and functionally
significant congenital heart defect" in August.
"I'm going to dedicate this season to Bronny because of the
incident that happened this summer. It just puts everything in
perspective and no matter what's going on in that point and time
in your life, the only thing that matters is your family,"
LeBron James said. "To see what he had to go through, what he's
been through over the last few months, it's been a lot. I can
only imagine how it's been for him. Because it's been a lot for
me. It's been a lot for our family.
"But the man above has definitely given us a lot of strength,
has given Bronny a lot of strength to bounce back. If he was to
walk through the door right now, you wouldn't even know that he
had what he had because of how well he's moving, how vibrant he
is. It's a beautiful thing to be able to have him where he is
today."
James is a 19-time All-Star, a four-time league MVP and a
four-time champion. He is the all-time leading scorer in NBA
history with 38,652 points.
--Field Level Media
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