{"id":4893,"date":"2026-05-12T04:02:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4893"},"modified":"2026-05-12T04:02:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:02:56","slug":"lebron-james-pregame-routine-is-familiar-as-uncertainty-swirls-ahead-of-lakers-potential-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4893","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James\u2019 pregame routine is familiar as uncertainty swirls ahead of Lakers\u2019 potential finale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 \u201cWhat if\u2019s\u201d have filled Crypto.com Arena for the last month.<\/p>\n

What if Luka Doncic was available for the playoffs instead of nursing a Grade\u00a02 left hamstring strain and still seemingly weeks away from a return? What if the trio of Lakers stars had been available to play more than 29 games together this season? What if they didn\u2019t match up with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round compared to the San Antonio Spurs, whom the Minnesota Timberwolves have given more than a fight in the other Western Conference semifinal?<\/p>\n

Read more Love Placentia marks a decade of volunteers showing care for their town<\/a><\/p>\n

The largest \u201cwhat if\u201d loomed over Game 4 on Monday night, with the Lakers trailing 3-0 in the best-of-seven series against the Thunder: LeBron James\u2019 future.<\/p>\n

What if Monday night is the final time James takes the court in his 23-season NBA career? And what if James continues his career, but is playing in another city with another franchise when he turns 42 years old next December?<\/p>\n

Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked, at least once more, during pregame media duties on Monday, about what James has provided for the Lakers throughout the season \u2013 especially considering the tumultuous stretch since April 2, the night when Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered the injuries that sidelined Doncic indefinitely and cost Reaves nearly a month, dealing a significant blow to the team\u2019s hopes of making a deep postseason run.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been great,\u201d Redick said. \u201cHe\u2019s been great on the court. He\u2019s been great with his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redick referenced what James used to post on what was then called Twitter, ahead of the postseason. He would share a message related to Zero Dark Thirty. For James, it meant canceling the noise out, a social-media blackout to take another step of focus for when the games really count. Redick said he\u2019s noticed that focus since joining the Lakers as head coach in 2024.<\/p>\n

Read more Garden Grove football coach Matt LemMon resigns after two seasons<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing around him for two years, even leading up to the playoffs, you certainly see a different level of focus,\u201d Redick said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s pretty much (at) an A-Focus at all times. So it\u2019s even more intense, I would say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the pick-and-roll game between James and Reaves has been one of the most challenging actions for his team to try to stop. He called James, when he\u2019s in the middle of the court in a 4-on-3 opportunity, \u201cdeath.\u201d<\/p>\n

So on Monday, after controlling the music in the Lakers\u2019 locker room \u2013 sending the speakers into a deep silence in the immediate aftermath after he exited the room to run through his pregame routine on the court \u2013 James was seemingly the same, even with the drops of uncertainty in the air.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next is ultimately up to James.<\/p>\n

But the pregame flow, as cameras flooded the baseline to watch James shoot from all areas of the court, was for good reason. Any time James takes the court could be the last.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The four-time league MVP and future Hall-of-Famer\u2019s focus before the win-or-go-home game, however, appeared unfazed.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump administration cancels rule that made conservation a \u2018use\u2019 of public lands<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer was perhaps playing his final game with the Lakers and\/or the final game of his 23-year career on Monday at Crypto.com Arena with the season on the line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLeBron James\u2019 pregame routine is familiar as uncertainty swirls ahead of Lakers\u2019 potential finale - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4893\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LeBron James\u2019 pregame routine is familiar as uncertainty swirls ahead of Lakers\u2019 potential finale - 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