THE OPENING TO LeBron James‘ historic 23rd season included a personal first for the future Hall of Famer, one that seriously dampened any celebration of his longevity, rather than enhancing it.
During a summer workout, James started to experience sciatica that affected his lower back and right side of his body. The pain sidelined him through Los Angeles Lakers training camp and well into the 2025-26 season.
“Never in my life, since I started playing the game of basketball, have I ever not started the season,” James said on Nov. 17, the day before making his season debut in Salt Lake City after missing the first 14 games because of the injury. “It’s been a mind test, but I’m built for it.”
Beyond spoiling a preseason to prepare for the rigors of the season and a training camp to coalesce with Luka Doncic after he was acquired last year in a midseason trade, James’ absence was a tangible example that basketball careers — even his — cannot last forever.
James’ preseason health wasn’t the only circumstance that made the start of the season unique.
In June, he had picked up the $52.6 million player option, rather than negotiate a new deal. In doing so, for the first time since joining the Lakers in 2018, he would be playing on an expiring contract.
With that backdrop on Nov. 18, the day of his delayed season debut, in the corner of the visitor’s locker room at the Utah Jazz‘s Delta Center — an arena that James has played in so long that its name has changed from the Delta Center, to EnergySolutions Arena, to Vivint Smart Home Arena, to Vivint Arena, back to the Delta Center — ESPN presented him with a story proposal.
Considering the unprecedented nature of his season, the idea was to chronicle James’ campaign by asking him a series of 23 questions in one-on-one interviews throughout the year. The aim was to try to learn more about the man who has seemingly answered every one imaginable dating back to his teenage years.
James agreed.
What follows are those questions — far more than the original 23 proposed — in a yearlong conversation, across eight NBA cities, with LeBron James.
Dec. 1, 2025 — Los Angeles
After scoring 10 points in a 125-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns, extending his record 10-point streak to 1,297 consecutive games, James talked about the closest call he’d had in snapping the streak.
It was March 20, 2021, he said, and the Lakers were playing the Atlanta Hawks. James had scored seven points a minute into the second quarter when Hawks big man Solomon Hill crashed into James’ right leg trying to corral a loose ball.
The Lakers called timeout, as James crawled off the floor in pain. He checked back in after the timeout, hit a corner 3 to bring his points total to 10 — and checked out 39 seconds later. He went on to miss the Lakers’ next 20 games, disrupting what could have been a back-to-back title season for L.A. and possibly a fifth MVP campaign for James.
Q: When you reflect on Hill rolling into your ankle, does it make you think of the what-ifs?
A: For sure. My foot and my ankle ain’t been the same since. Ever since that injury, I’ve been fighting uphill to get it back to normal. But it’s been a little blah ever since.
What could have been, for sure. I was playing some of the best basketball of my career up until that point and leading this franchise in the right direction and then something like that happens, a high ankle sprain, and there’s nothing you can do about that.
Q: When the ankle injury happened, you had scored 7 points. Did you know that at the time?
A: Yeah, I’m not going to sit here and lie and say I didn’t know where I was. But I’ve hurt my ankle and my foot a couple times and I’ve laced my shoes up and just went back and played. And that was kind of my mindset. It wasn’t like, “Continue the streak.” It was more like, “Well, let me see. Let me see.” Or more like, “F—. Please no. Please no. Please, not right now.” Because, I’m playing too f—ing [well]. I have a chance to have a historical season.
Q: How much does the 10-point streak matter to you, if at all?
A: I hope it ends at some point. I’m sick of people talking about it in the stands. Like, even today, a guy was like, “C’mon, man, you only got six points! You got to keep the streak! You’re going to mess my parlay up!” I’m like, “The f—, bro.” Like, that’s the last thing I want to f—ing hear. I’m just playing ball. It’s not like I’m hunting. I f—ing took 10 shots tonight. So it’s not like I’m f—ing hunting for it. It’s not like I’m out there shooting 15, 20 shots just to get 10 points.
So, all streaks are I guess meant to end or meant to be broken. One of the two. We’ll see.
Q: Do you think it will ever be broken?
A: I can never say never. Because at one point, we never thought that Oscar Robertson’s triple-double record could ever be broken. And Russ did it.
There are a couple records out there that we know for sure will never be broken. The John Stockton assist record is a crazy number, a wide margin over the rest of us. Almost 3,000 more than Magic, CP, J-Kidd, myself. It’s crazy. We’re not even in the neighborhood. But we’ll see.
It turned out James’ wish for the streak to end was prophetic.
Three days later in Toronto, with James’ scuffling through a 4-for-17 shooting performance and the Lakers tied 120-120 with the Raptors in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter, he found Rui Hachimura open in the corner for a game-winning 3 at the buzzer. James finished with 8 points, ending the streak that lasted nearly 19 years.
Dec. 14, 2025 — Phoenix
Making up for the previous loss four nights earlier against the Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, James poured in 26 points in a narrow, 116-114 win over the Suns.
He did so while dealing with the antics of Suns forward Dillon Brooks, who has marketed himself as a James irritant ever since the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies’ first-round playoff series in 2023.
Q: The DeShawn Stevensons, Lance Stephensons, Jae Crowders, Dillon Brookses of the world, do they add to the show? Has having characters challenge you like that made your career more interesting? Have they made you better?
A: Better? I wouldn’t say better, but it’s all part of the journey. It’s all part of the book. You have those antagonizers throughout your career — they come in all shapes and sizes and different forms. And I embrace it.
I have never been one to go out and kind of start it. I have never been motivated off of that, to come out and just start talking throughout the game. It’s always been about playing the game. That’s how I was brought up. That’s how my little league coach, Frank Walker, told me to play the game. He never let us talk. It was about backing your game up and playing it — unless somebody gets to barking at us.
Q: Have any of the guys crossed the line?
A: Of course. You’ve seen people cross the line. Sometimes it’s basketball, sometimes it’s not basketball, when it crosses the line. It’s just a little weird. But if you want to compete, I’m here to compete. If you want to talk some s—. We can talk s— as well. Once it becomes other things, then that’s just [messing with] the integrity of the game and that’s when it’s not basketball anymore.
Q: One of those foils, Draymond Green, has become one of your best friends in the sport.
A: Yeah, we done had our time, too.
Q: Late in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals, when the Cavaliers were about to fall down 3-1, did you know, when you stepped over Green, where his technical foul points total stood?
A: Yeah, of course. But that wasn’t the reason that I did that. I think I set a screen, he fell, I’m getting back into the play and I stepped over him to get back into the play. It wasn’t like I had scored and you know the way how guys step over their defender, like Allen Iverson. It was like, “I’m trying to get back into the play. Every possession matters.”
I think he thought that I was doing that as disrespect, but it’s never been my forte. But of course, you know from watching the playoffs, everybody knows who the leader is in technicals. You watch the game, you know that. It worked in our favor, but it wasn’t like I was going into the game saying, “I know I can antagonize Draymond and get Draymond out of here so he won’t play in Game 5.” …
And he also was there for Game 6 and Game 7, too. He kicked our ass in Game 7. People need to stop saying, “Oh, well Draymond was out.” He was there for 6 and 7.
Dec. 30, 2025 — Los Angeles
James rang in his 41st birthday with a 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons, continuing a tough stretch for the Lakers around the holidays in which they lost four out of five.
Q: What are all-time statistical records that actually matter in the NBA? What are some stats that, when you came in, thought that mattered the most? And now that you’ve been in it so long, what are the stats that impress you?
A: When I came in, I thought, obviously, the scoring record was incredible. I never thought anybody would be able to catch that, for all the years that Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] played.
I thought the triple-double record was incredible as well. I thought nobody would catch that. I mean, obviously MJ’s six rings, I thought that was pretty cool, too. Because when I came in, I don’t think that Big Shot Bob Horry, Big Shot Bob didn’t have seven yet. I thought MJ doing a three-peat twice was super-duper dope as hell. For him to win six in eight years, I thought that was incredible.
Q: You made it to the NBA Finals eight straight years. That is a stat of yours that will be mentioned on the short list of your most notable achievements. The amount of endurance that went into that, playing into June for nearly a decade straight, can you even explain it?
A: I can’t. I was so engulfed in it. I never gave myself the chance to relax, even when I went to the Finals — whether I won or lost. When I won it, all I was thinking about was, “How can I repeat?” When I lost, “How can I get back for redemption?” That’s all I was thinking about. I don’t know how I was able to do it eight straight years.
Now looking back on it, I don’t think anybody will be able to ever do that again. But can never say never in this league.
Q: Do you think, in retrospect, had there been an early exit one of those years, it would have helped you in a subsequent year in terms of you having more left in the tank in the Finals?
A: No. When I was younger, I used to have the notion of like, people were getting on me for losing in the Finals and when I was younger, I used to listen to it.
Like, people will really rather you not make the playoffs or lose in the first round than to lose in the Finals. Which is crazy to me. And I almost feel like, is it because it’s me? Everybody has to say something about my career, “Oh, well, he made eight straight Finals but he was only able to win three.” “He’s the leading scorer in NBA history, but he’s played 23 years.”
Yeah, but I am also fastest to 1,000 [points]. Fastest to 2,000. Fastest to 5,000. Fastest to 10,000. So, when I started realizing it was just a knock on me [that was a disingenuous argument], I started to appreciate it a little bit more. Like, I am pissed off that I didn’t have a better winning percentage individually in the Finals, but for people to try to turn it into a negative, it doesn’t bother me like it did when I was younger.
Jan. 17, 2026 — Portland
James’ annual road trips to Portland always involve more than just games against the Trail Blazers. It’s a chance to check in with the company that has employed him even longer than the NBA has: Nike.
James signed a seven-year, $90 million deal with the sports apparel giant before ever appearing in an NBA game, which made him a lightning rod for criticism (and envy) from others in the sport.
Q: You received major backlash to your first Nike deal before you ever stepped onto the court in the NBA. What was that like to navigate?
A: It was challenging. Especially for a 17-year-old, an 18-year-old at the time. But I think the best thing is, my mom was in my corner, my friends were in my corner. I had a good group and support system.
My mindset wasn’t about the Nike deal. My only mindset was about me getting better … and putting the time into the process of being great. I knew what I was capable of. I knew what my game was capable of. I just had to continue to work at it and ultimately, make the contract that I signed look like I was underpaid.
Q: You spent time with Moses Malone before your first NBA game and, unlike other players who did not embrace you, he was always supportive. Were there any other players who supported you like that?
A: The best guys that were in my corner when I first came out of the draft were J-Kidd, Moses Malone, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Payton.
Every time I saw them, it was just always love and support. There was no hating. Obviously I don’t know what they did behind closed doors, but I can say that when I see them, still to this day — except the late, great Moses — it’s been the same energy every single time.
That meant a lot because I grew up watching Griff, wanting to be great like Griff in my respective sport. Watching GP and J-Kidd, watching those guys. Having respect for the legacy of the older guys, and Moses, of course I didn’t watch him when I was a kid, but I knew what legends brought to the game. And it was probably a couple more guys, but I know those four guys were there if I needed to talk to them. If I needed to reach out to them, if I needed something, they were always respectful and were an open book. So that was pretty dope for me, being a kid from Akron.
Q: Did they acknowledge that there were going to be haters?
A: No, I traveled that road on my own. There was nobody that kind of gave me the one-on-one playbook of what was to come. But they did give me that positive reinforcement that I made the right decision. And if I just put the work in and give myself to the game and give myself to the craft, then this s— would pay off.
I’m a good reader of energy. I am a good reader of good people and bad people. And having those four, it meant a lot.
Jan. 26, 2026 — Chicago
In the summer of 2016, while James was still basking in the glow of the Cavs’ championship, he admitted why he still felt like he had work left to do as a basketball player.
“My motivation is this ghost I’m chasing,” he told Sports Illustrated. “The ghost played in Chicago.”
A decade later, the debate over James’ proper place in the GOAT conversation alongside Michael Jordan rages on.
Q: In your most honest, laid-bare basketball opinion, what did Michael do better than you and what do you do better than him?
A: Oh my god, don’t get me started on that.
Q: Not asking who is greater. Just the aspects of your games.
A: There are a lot of things that MJ did better than I do. And I think there are some things that I do better than him. That’s just how the game goes. There’s a lot of things that I can say in particular. You already know how this conversation is going to be [misinterpreted] by people, man.
I think I am one-of-one. I think the way I play the game, I am a one-of-one player. And MJ, as well. A f—ing unbelievable basketball player. I think his midrange jump shot was unbelievable. He did so many things great. I grew up f—ing analyzing everything that he did. How he could get to his spot and rise up above everybody. Obviously, his post game was elite. His will to win. I think that is a trait that we all know and that we all wanted to be like. His determination to win.
I never have compared myself to MJ because our games are totally different. I have been a point-forward/forward-point my whole life. I have always looked for the pass. MJ kind of looked for the shot. Not kind of, he did. He looked for the shot.
There are a lot of things where I would say my game is a lot different and a little better than his, but s—, he was f—ing great. We’re both great. We’re both great basketball players.
Q: You told us Jordan was one of your motivations when you were a kid, and he helped you dream about making it to the NBA.
A: I never thought that I could be him, but I dreamed of the opportunity to live in the shoes that he lived in.
I dreamed of being able to be in a big game and hit a game winner as the clock went down. I dreamed of having my own sneaker. I dreamed of flying through the air like him. I dreamed of people screaming my name. Everything that he did, I needed inspiration from certain people in music and in sports during my upbringing. I needed that.
MJ, s—, I was born in ’84, the year he came into the league. He won his first championship in 1991, 1992 that’s around the time I first started watching basketball and when I first started playing. My first year playing basketball I was 9-years-old, so that was ’92. So all those timelines kind of fit perfect to me. And his last championship was ’98, that’s one year before I go into high school and I’m starting to pick it up. So everything kind of worked that way. And what he was doing inspired me so much.
Q: Has it been a burden as an adult? That ambition? Because now, everybody brings it up. You can’t escape the comparison.
A: No. I think it’s a very tiring conversation. It’s barbershop talk.
You can look at both of us and say that you love both of us without trying to s— on the other person. And usually, it’s s—ting on me.
But I know for sure that I’ve done my part in this journey and more than anything I hope — I don’t know — but I hope I made him proud at least, wearing that No. 23.
Feb. 1, 2026 — New York City
James incorporates showmanship into his presentation as a player and there is no stage James relishes more than Madison Square Garden. Retirement will close off MSG as a venue for him, but there are other ways former players remain in the spotlight.
Q: One of the broadcasters for NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball, Tracy McGrady, was your opponent the first time you played a Christmas Day game in the NBA. Another guy who you came into the league with in 2003, Carmelo Anthony, was working the game for NBC, too. Earlier this road trip, you had Richard Jefferson doing the game for ABC and D-Wade did a recent game for Amazon.
With your relationships with these guys, have you paid extra attention to their life post basketball at all?
A: No. F— no.
Q: Why not? Not saying you’ll be a broadcaster, but at some point, you’ll be like them and retire, too, and you’ll face the same situation: having all this free time to fill.
A: D-Wade, T-Mac, Melo, all of those guys are different. I don’t really look at none of those guys [as examples to follow]. My journey is going to be my journey.
I respect everything that they all got going on, it’s pretty cool, I love seeing Melo on TV now. He knows the game. I love seeing D-Wade do his thing. But, yeah, I am not really looking at them like that.
Q: If you aren’t looking at them then, are you thinking about retirement and what you’ll do to fill the time?
A: Hell yeah. My wife is going to get a lot of f—ing time because I’ve had to sacrifice not being with my wife a lot because I wanted to be the greatest player that ever played this game.
My daughter, I’m going to spend a lot of time with her because I spent the first 11 years of her life — or 12, whenever this s— is over, 13 — being away from her. My youngest son is in college.
My family deserves all my time. And then, me. I deserve my time, too. Because I’ve dedicated to this sport for so long that I’ll be happy as f— when it’s all done to get the f— away and give myself some grace.
Feb. 28, 2026 — San Francisco
James missed the Lakers-Warriors game on opening night because of his back and then Curry missed the next three because of his knee. It was here, in the Chase Center visitor’s locker room on Christmas Day 2024, that James explained why the NBA still is worth tuning into during the holiday, even when the NFL had a full slate of games scheduled. “LeBron and Steph,” he said.
Both players have so much popularity in the sport that their first names alone spark recognition across the globe. And his is a name all his own.
Q: How did you get the name LeBron?
A: It was my grandfather’s best friend’s name and my mom loved it. That’s the story. I have not done the background research or looked into the origin. I am leaving a lot of stuff for when I retire, to start digging into it, to find out where a lot of s— comes from in my whole family origin. … That’s all I know about it.
Q: Prior to becoming famous, what did you think of the name LeBron?
A: I never heard it growing up. Now there are, I think, a couple baseball players, where I have seen the name come across. But I had never heard the name. Ever.
Q: As a kid, did you like the name?
A: Yeah, I loved it. But people would mess it up. Lee-Bron. LeBryan, I’ve heard a lot — I don’t know how the hell you say ‘LeBryan’ off LeBron. But I have never not liked my name. I thought it was so unique and so different.
March 21, 2026 — Orlando
The Lakers’ 105-104 win over the Magic on Luke Kennard’s buzzer-beater was L.A.’s ninth straight. And James wasn’t the team’s leading scorer in any of them. James had seamlessly switched from leading man to a supporting role. But James still keeps the company of A-listers off the court.
Q: Are there any celebrities we would be surprised to know you have a relationship with?
A: Leonardo DiCaprio. I got dinner with Leo at Avra in Beverly Hills and he told us about “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” before he started filming it. That was crazy. I don’t remember how our connection started. I don’t know if Mav [Carter] set that up, I have no idea. But I just showed up and Leo was there. And then Al Pacino showed up.
Q: Did he spend time with you guys, too?
A: Yeah, he did.
Q: Obviously ‘The Godfather’ is your favorite movie …
A: That’s all I was talking about. He couldn’t believe how much I knew the movie. I was taking him back to stuff that he probably forgot about. Obviously he’s done about a f—ing billion movies. But he was super surprised that I knew that much about those movies. That was a really cool moment for me.
Q: Do you get starstruck? Especially to meet someone whose work was so meaningful to you?
A: Starstruck, nah. But, f—, [Pacino] is one of the greatest actors of all time. Both of them, him and Leo. And Michael Corleone is one of my favorite characters of all time, in movie history. So to be able to have that moment, it was another, ‘I’m from Akron, Ohio,’ moment. Like, I’m from Akron, Ohio, how am I in a room with two of the greatest that have ever been on a movie screen?
Q: Why does ‘The Godfather’ appeal to you so much?
A: One, I love mob movies. I’m a big-time mob movie guy. There’s a few of them that I’m in love with. But also, I don’t think people talk about the level of family and what you would do for your family.
That movie obviously is told as a mob movie, that’s the scene behind it, but the dynamics of good, bad that you have to deal with in your family and protecting your family; interaction with your family; how your family is raised; disappointment in your family, at times.
There’s so many gems in that movie and I pick up one every single time I watch the movie. I’ve watched it dozens of times, dozens. My first time watching it, I was maybe 17, 18. High school.
As I watched it as I got older, I found parallels to my life in the fact that I happen to be the head honcho of a family and everything that comes with that. And it’s a lot. It’s hard. It’s hard when everybody is expecting or wanting. You have to be everything for the family. It’s a lot of pressure that comes with that. So, I found parallels to that. I have the book. I own a beautiful jukebox where you turn the reel and it plays the theme song of “The Godfather.” I love it.
April 5, 2026 — Dallas
The Lakers’ late-season surge came to a screeching halt in Oklahoma City with a 43-point loss on April 2 during which Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) both suffered significant injuries. And James was in no mood to talk.
L.A. held a rare road practice the next day in Dallas on Southern Methodist University’s campus to try to game-plan their immediate future without their star backcourt.
After the practice, nearing the end of the yearlong project, James committed to finishing the list of questions after the Mavericks game — with the hodgepodge of random queries serving as a welcome distraction from the spot the Lakers suddenly found themselves in.
Q: Everywhere you go, you travel with a paper-towel box covered in black electrical tape. What’s up with that?
A: The paper towel box came from me using [cloth] towels too much and it left a f—ing scar on my face. On my nose. It made a dark mark from me using the regular towels. I had a nasty dark mark on my face and I think that’s where it came from. So I stopped using them ever since.
Q: Nike issues new warmups for the team every season, but you have been wearing the same, long-sleeved black quarter-zip with a silver Lakers logo — that’s in your locker here in Dallas right now — since the 2021-22 season. Why?
A: The coach’s zip-up? What made me switch? I just switched. I worked out in it [in 2021]. It was comfortable when I was training. [It’s not a superstition] because I’m not wearing it as much now. But it was something I wore for quite a while.
I saw the coaches wearing it at practice and I was like, “I need one of those, let me see what that feels like.” And it’s super breathable, super stretchy. I can get a good lather in.
Q: This season, the Lakers have a unique pregame ritual that begins by you hurling the ball underhand toward the rafters and a series of specific actions follow from there. It’s as intricate as the personalized handshakes you famously have with every player. What is the story behind it?
A: I have no idea how it started — the pregame s— with tossing the ball, it just manifested itself. I think I was just f—ing around one day, just being stupid [when I backpedaled]. I was just being stupid with it, and it became a routine. It’s funny how things just stick. It’s our routine.
Q: Similarly, early in your career you used to pose with your Cavs teammates as if you all were getting ready to take an imaginary photo together. Are those types of things important for camaraderie?
A: I think it’s great for a team. Just to have that type of unsaid bonding or routines where guys, everybody feels a part of it. Everybody feels like, “This is us. This is our thing.” It’s not just me, it’s everybody. And when it comes to that routine, we always have one guy shooting the 3 — which is usually DK [Dalton Knecht]. If DK is not with us, then we have somebody else shooting the 3. We all put our thumbs up, which means we’re ready. And then we get one soccer kick to the rim — which is usually Luka, with a pass from Maxi [Kleber]. And obviously if they’re not there, guys fill in.
And I’m usually the guy that tosses the ball up to the ceiling, goes back [with those exaggerated steps] and usually at the end, I am usually the guy that throws the lob to Jax [Jaxson Hayes]. Unless I’m not there and Rui [Hachimura] and Bronny have stepped in. So, it’s a routine that’s pretty cool.
Q: You and your son, Bronny, have now played together when games were still in the balance in recent weeks, with you even getting an assist to him against Brooklyn last month and him getting an assist to you in Dallas. Did it match up to how you pictured it would be?
A: I didn’t have a perfect way of what that first assist would be to him. I would have loved for it to be some kind of fast-break lob to him or from him to me. That’s the perfect way. But I didn’t go into it saying, “OK, I’m predetermining this.”
What’s important to me is the fact that we can play meaningful minutes together. That’s something I envisioned and hoped for, and because [of] his progression, [that’s] the reason why we’re doing that now. I just know that he is in so much of a better place now. I just know that he was even more confident in his shot, the one he just made, compared to the one he had against Minnesota in his first game.
