Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James still against playing games without fans

Los Angeles Lakers superstar, LeBron James, remains against playing games without fans in attendance.

We have surpassed the two-week mark without Los Angeles Lakers basketball because of the coronavirus outbreak. Organizations are taking all of the necessary precautions to help flatten the curve, as 14 people within the NBA, including Kevin Durant, Marcus Smart, Christian Wood, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and two Lakers’ players tested positive.

Gobert and Mitchell, the first two to test positive, have since been cleared, which is excellent news. They no longer pose a risk of infection to others.

With no games being played and very little to react to as a result, news has been slow. However, there have been some players very active on social media and podcasts to help pass the time. One of those players is LeBron James.

It should come as no surprise that the most recognizable player on the Lakers, and arguably in the NBA, has been active doing remote appearances for different podcasts or Instagram live sessions.

Since the NBA suspended operations, James has been active across multiple platforms. During an Instagram live, he passed time by watching old highlights of his. During another Instagram live, he also revealed that he is hoping to finish his career with the Lakers.

Most recently, James made an appearance on the Road Trippin’ Podcast, which is hosted by his former teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye and Allie Clifton, the current Lakers studio host.

During his appearance, James discussed how COVID-19 is impacting the NBA. One of the things that were discussed was playing games in arenas without fans. It is something that James is still against doing, if possible.

"“What is the word ‘sport’ without ‘fan’? There’s no excitement. There’s no crying. There’s no joy. There’s no back-and-forth. There’s no rhyme or reason that you want to go on the road and just dethrone the home team because of their fans and vice versa.“Like, that’s what also brings out the competitive side of the players to know that you’re going on the road in a hostile environment and yes, you’re playing against that opponent in front of you, but you really want to kick the fans’ ass too."

There is no denying the atmosphere would be a lot different if games were to be played without fans. The added boost you get from your home fans cheering you on wouldn’t exist. The extra motivation, as James mentions, about wanting to beat a team on the road in front of their fans, wouldn’t exist.

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The games would essentially be glorified scrimmages. The fans are part of what helps these players get up and motivated to play throughout an 82-game season. Without them, the games would feel like summer workouts. James has mentioned that the fans are part of what he misses during this suspension.

While he wants to get back on the court, the dynamic of playing without fans is something he would find weird.

"“So, to get back on the floor, I would love it. I’m not going to sit here and say nothing. Like if it’s get out there and get back on the floor 5-on-5 … but like, we can do that in scrimmages. Let’s just go to each other’s practice facility, put out a camera, just scrimmage and live stream it. But until the fans can come back … I just don’t know how we can imagine a sporting event without fans. It’s just, it’s a weird dynamic.”"

While it isn’t an idea that he is all for, playing games without fans seems inevitable. The NBA cannot afford to put their athletes, coaches, referees or personnel that help makes airing these games possible at risk.

Whatever the league decides to do, if they resume play at all, James will find a way to motivate himself and his teammates to finish what was an incredible start to the 2019-20 season.