LeBron James and Zion Williamson put on a show on Sunday when the NBA’s present met the NBA’s future at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. LeBron helped his visiting Los Angeles Lakers earn a 122-114 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans behind a 34-point triple-double. Meanwhile, Zion was just as impressive with a game-high 35 points of his own to go along with seven rebounds.
As the contest concluded, James and Williamson caught up with each other and exchanged words on the court before walking to their respective locker rooms. LeBron described the sentiment of what he told Zion with reporters following the game, as well as explaining why he feels a personal responsibility to mentor the young stars in the NBA like Zion, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum and others.
On his words to Zion, LeBron says he thinks it’s his responsibility to mentor: “Anybody that says, ‘LeBron, why would he do that while he’s playing? He’s showing signs of weakness, he’s buddy-buddy with these guys he’s going against.’ Tell em to kiss my ass. With a smile, too.” pic.twitter.com/pKSSiU5OrN
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 2, 2020
“You know me. It’s my obligation, it’s my job to continue to pass on the game to the guys coming in after me,” LeBron told Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. “It’s just my responsibility. No one told me to do that. I feel like it’s just my responsibility to leave the game in a better place than when I had it.
“When you see the class of guys that’s in our league right now, I mentioned Ja last night. I mentioned Zion tonight. You see Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, all these young guys—the league is in a very good place.
“If I’m able to give my wisdom of the game, pass it down while I’m playing or after I’m playing I feel like it’s my job. The game has given me so much since I started playing when I was eight years old.
“Anybody that says that, ‘LeBron, why would he do that while he’s playing? He’s showing signs of weakness, he’s buddy-buddy with these guys he’s going against.’ Tell em to kiss my a–. With a smile, too.”
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