LeBron GETS HONEST Talking About Lakers Future after Loss to OKC! — FULL Lakers Postgame Interviews!

[0:00] Well, I think you guys asked me about it, and I've answered questions. [0:04] Yeah, I don't think I've come out as like, oh, retirement is coming. [0:07] Yeah, so, I mean, what about future? [0:11] I don't know, obviously. [0:12] I mean, obviously we're still fresh from, you know, obviously losing. [0:17] You know, I don't know. [0:20] I mean, I don't know what the future holds for me, obviously, [0:22] as it stands right now tonight. [0:24] A lot of time I'll sit back, like I think I said last year after we lost, [0:29] I think to Minnesota, to go back and recalibrate with my family [0:33] and talk with them and spend some time with them. [0:36] And then when the time comes, obviously you guys know what I've decided to do. [0:42] Obviously we fell a little short, obviously, [0:44] but I'm not looking at a year as a disappointment. [0:50] That's for damn sure. [0:51] Especially, I mean, put into some positions I've never played in my career before. [0:59] Actually, to be able to live in that role, that period of time, [1:11] and then have to step back into the role that I've been accustomed with [1:16] over my career, over my life, playing a sport, [1:18] and be able to thrive under that, and then just my teammates allowing me [1:21] to, like, lead them under extreme circumstances, [1:25] that was pretty cool for me at this stage in my career. [1:31] I don't need to happen. [1:41] So I don't even remember many of the last times walking off the court. [1:44] Football club had the opportunity, and also he gained the confidence in himself [1:52] that he knew he belonged in his league, that he could do special things. [1:59] I mean, yeah, it's very frustrating. [2:02] I know some people wanted me back, but obviously I wasn't close to clearing. [2:07] You know, there was some stuff in the media that went out that wasn't true. [2:13] Nobody of those people, you know, saw my MRIs, know nothing, [2:17] so it wasn't really true. [2:18] If I could be out there, I would be 100%. [2:21] Everybody in that room knows that. [2:24] You know, it's been really tough. [2:25] Like I said, this is the best time to play basketball. [2:27] I would say not to be able to help my team. [2:32] So, looking to the offseason, you know, obviously I'm still doing recovery, [2:38] so that's the first thing. [2:40] We had great chemistry, and obviously playing with AR and Bron was unbelievable experience. [2:46] They were two great players, and it was really fun to share a call with them. [2:50] Luca, when you signed your extension last summer, you helped to recruit Marcus and D.A. [2:57] Will you be trying to make sure you recruit LeBron off to D.A. and Marcus again this summer? [3:05] We'll see. [3:06] I can't tell you nothing. [3:08] The human stuff. [3:11] Yeah, I mean, it was, I think for everybody involved, that's the part of it that is human, [3:22] is that there is highs and lows and frustrations and moments of triumph and joy and belief and doubt. [3:31] It's just, you're one game, you're one quarter, you're one play away from supreme confidence [3:40] or a little bit of doubt creeping in. [3:44] I think Rory said it one time, he said, you know, when you're playing bad, it can seem so far away, [3:49] and then when you're playing good, how did I ever think that it was that far away? [3:52] And, you know, there's, I think for our team, like, we went through every single thing this year, [3:58] stayed together, and I think, you know, hopefully put a team out that, you know, [4:08] our fans can celebrate, not in the way that we all want to celebrate, certainly. [4:13] JJ, what was it about this game and that moment that makes you so emotional [4:19] and about playing this game makes people so emotional when you lose a series like this? [4:24] I told the team this, this is my 17th year being part of an NBA team, [4:34] and I've always looked at every team I've been a part of, every team I've been on, [4:40] as a living organism, and I've maybe talked about this once before, [4:45] and during the course of a season, sometimes that organism is healthy and thriving, [4:51] and sometimes that organism can get the flu, and sometimes that organism can get really sick. [4:58] Now, we experience all of that this year. [5:02] When the season ends, that organism is dead, and that organism will never live again. [5:08] I mean, you bring up the free agent thing, sometimes you might have one or two of those guys, [5:11] and we have half our team. [5:12] I'm like a little white kid from the Styx in Virginia, and I get to do this. [5:25] That's why it's emotional, because I care more than, I mean, I hate to say this about my family, [5:30] but I care as much about this as anything. [5:34] I love my wife and kids, but that's why. [5:40] It's just, you know, I didn't want our season to end. [5:46] I wanted to keep this thing going. [5:49] I enjoyed every bit of this this year. [5:54] JJ, you've talked about kind of celebrating small wins throughout this season. [5:58] Obviously, you would like to be celebrating a different win tonight, [6:01] but when you are processing the season right now, even though it's still so raw, [6:05] what are some of the small wins that you think you can celebrate heading into the future for this organization? [6:12] Yeah, I mean, I think we had a lot of guys that had great individual seasons. [6:17] I think any time you can win 50 games, any time you can be a home, you know, get home court in the first round, [6:23] I think one of the biggest wins for us, and I talk to all the time towards the end of the season [6:30] and in the playoffs about our resiliency. [6:33] I think one of the biggest wins for us is the multiple times throughout the regular season [6:41] and the multiple times towards the end of the regular season with the injuries [6:45] and during the playoffs where we could have just laid down. [6:48] Tonight would have been an easy night for us to lay down. [6:52] And I don't know who the F came up with moral victories. [6:58] I don't even know what that phrase means. [7:00] I don't believe in it. [7:02] But I look at all the small wins along the way as part of the journey. [7:08] And for each of these guys, it's part of their journey this season. [7:12] And for each of my coaches, it's part of our journey. [7:14] For Lakers fans who maybe this is their second year because Luka got traded, this is part of their fandom. [7:21] And it's just, yeah, it's just part of it. [7:28] JJ, you had mentioned, I think, after you guys lost to Phoenix and Orlando after the All-Star break [7:32] that you were still searching for this team's identity. [7:35] When you look at the way they fought tonight and throughout the series, [7:38] what do you think that identity ended up being? [7:39] I think it ended up being a really hard-playing team, a really together team, and a team with a lot of heart. [7:58] Hey, JJ, obviously LeBron is uncertain about his future. [8:01] Has that part of this hit you yet, that this could be goodbye to him? [8:05] I haven't even thought about that. [8:07] And, again, we'll deal with the offseason, in the offseason, which is, you know, the next two months. [8:14] JJ, when you're just thinking about how close or how far you are, how important is continuity, right? [8:22] Just building continuity from one season to the next, having similar guys that can grow together and build an identity? [8:30] Yeah, you know, I do, I believe in continuity. [8:34] But I do think that there's, if you're trying to win a championship, what this organization is, [8:42] and I'm trying to win a championship, I know RP's trying to win a championship, I know Jeannie is, I know Mark is, [8:46] like, we're trying to win a championship, and so you have to be realistic and assess where you're at, [8:50] and we're not good enough right now. [8:52] And there probably will be some continuity, there probably won't be, but that's what the next two months are for. [8:59] Thank you.