Players and coaches are now back at their respective practice facilities as teams across the NBA are preparing for the league’s restart, which is scheduled to begin July 30 at the Walt Disney World Wide World of Sports Complex. But over the past four months, players have had to deal with not even knowing whether they would come back at all. And even when some facilities were open, the strict guidelines for sanitation and social distancing made players question whether it would all be worth it.
As for the Los Angeles Lakers, who at the time of the league’s postponement had arguably the league’s best chemistry, two of their most gregarious veterans have made sure to keep the squad engaged through the team group chat, according to Melissa Rohlin of SI Now’s All Lakers blog.
Caruso said on a video conf. call that Jared Dudley & LeBron James have been very active over their group chat, keeping the team in contact.
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) July 1, 2020
Dudley is one of the most outspoken veteran role players in the league, with his voice being a big reason why he’s been looked at as a leader in several of his past spots and with the Lakers. And LeBron, of course, was serious this season in organizing off-court activities for the team to bond, particularly on the road. That type of leadership has only been more vital to their team in the quarantine, with the hopes that it will lead to the results they’d been hoping for all year.
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