The postseason expectation for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers changed after they acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. The 2024-25 NBA season changed, and the Lakers are now among the favorites to win the Larry O’Brien trophy. Before the playoffs started, James sat down with Hall of Famer Steve Nash on the latest episode of their show, “Mind the Game.”
In a sneak peek for the newest episode, James was eager to lead the Lakers in the playoffs. As the third seed, L.A. has the advantage to go on a deep postseason run and possibly contend for the title.
“Listen, at this point in my career,” James started. “Regular season is fun, it’s cool. But, I just only care about the playoffs.
“I’m all about the process, and I will always be about the process. And now to get to this point but, if you have the chance to win it and you know you have the team to have a chance. It doesn’t always result into winning it, but if you have a chance and you know you have a fighting chance to walk into this ring and say, ‘We can beat anyone.’
The stakes are high in the postseason.
Episode 4 talking Playoffs drops TOMORROW, 9AM ET on our YouTube channel! pic.twitter.com/zzRVcMKKVB
— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) April 21, 2025
“We know we have to play close to perfect basketball… Takes a lot of luck in the postseason. We understand that but, when it comes to playoff basketball, it’s definitely a drug for sure.”
Although he’s 40, James is determined to take things seriously, especially in the postseason. The Los Angeles Lakers star expressed his anticipation for the postseason action.
However, in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, L.A. suffered a 117-95 loss. James had a lowly 19 points on 44.4 percent shooting. For Game 2, there is an expectation that the 6-foot-9 forward will lead the team to a bounce-back win.
Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach wants the team to be organized for Game 2
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to even the series against the Wolves for Game 2. The team still has the home-court advantage, which could help them turn things around. However, a possible win for L.A. relies heavily on how the players would perform.
Ahead of the second game of the best-of-seven series, head coach JJ Redick said he wants the team to be “organized” against Minnesota.
“We have to do a lot of things better, and it starts with playing harder and being more organized,” Redick said via The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
JJ Redick on rewatching Game 1: “We have to do a lot of things better, and it starts with playing harder and being more organized.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 21, 2025
The rest of the team needs to be of help to Luka Doncic. The European star was the only player to crack the 20-point mark in Game 1, scoring 37 points on 54.5 percent shooting.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
