LeBron understands concerns over heavy workload, but isn't fazed
The words "too much" aren't in the vocabulary of LeBron James, who has built his legacy off of shouldering heavy workloads for the better part of his ongoing 16-year career.
Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson and former franchise cornerstone Kobe Bryant have both recently expressed their concerns over James seemingly attempting to single-handedly get the team over the hump this season. The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, however, has never been one to take his foot off the gas and is perfectly fine continuing to compete at an expeditious and occasionally cumbersome rate.
"I don't know what asking me to do too much is, to be honest," said James following Tuesday's practice, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
It was last week when Magic reiterated that he wants to keep James' usage rate down to prevent a repeat of his years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bryant, meanwhile, believes James doing everything for the Lakers is a recipe for the team to keep their head above water, but not to become champions.
"I understand the logic behind it," James added. "I understand what Magic and Kobe are saying because we want to continue to grow the young guys. We want to see how much our young guys can grow and be the best they can be. I mean, Magic and Kobe know who I am. I know who I am. They know what they're going to get out of me.
"That is, you know what you're going to get out of me every game. Am I going to play well every game? Am I going to shoot the ball well every game? No. But you know who I am, and when it's time to - when it's really, really, really money time, you know who is going to be there. So we got guys who just want to continue to develop and guys that continue to get better and better just from experience. They haven't had a lot of experience. So I think people are trying to blow it out of proportion, like, 'OK, why do you have LeBron if you don't want to use him?' They don't understand the logic behind it."
The 33-year-old is currently averaging a career-low 34.7 minutes per game for the 14-9 Lakers - although he admits his competitive nature has him wanting to play a full 48. James' 31.6 usage rate also ranks ninth overall in the Association and is the same number as his final year in Cleveland, when he led the league in minutes played.