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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James shed light on a variety of topics facing the NBA should it attempt to resume the 2019-20 season later this year.

Appearing on the Road Trippin’ podcast, James expressed concerns for NBA players competing against someone who was diagnosed with the coronavirus.

“So what happens when a guy who is tested positive for corona and you’re out there on the floor with him and it’s a loose ball?” James said on the 51-minute podcast, which was hosted by former Cleveland Cavaliers teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye as well as current Lakers studio host Allie Clifton.



James also expressed displeasure with the notion of playing games without fans, which likely would be the NBA’s first step back to action since it suspended the season earlier this month.

“What is the word ‘sport’ without ‘fan’?” the four-time NBA MVP asked. “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.

“… 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’ (backside) too.”

While James provided tongue-and-cheek responses to how he will handle physical interaction with the fans — “I ain’t high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this (expletive)” — he appeared to take a more direct tone when discussing the idea of starting the NBA playoffs upon return to action.

“One thing you can’t just do is go straight to the playoffs,” James said. “Because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys had fighting for that position.”



–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)