His nature sometimes makes it hard for him to accept anything else than excellence, especially when it's outside his control. This has played out over and over in his career as teammates, coaches and friends can verify. Known for posting quotes in his locker and writing reminders on his shoes, perhaps his own quote on the matter would be useful for him to refer to as the next six months unfold.įor those who really know James, one issue is this: The way James feels about his situation in July is often different than the way he feels in December. James was answering a question about Lakers' expectations but also repeating a mantra in some respects. "I've got to be patient with myself, too, because this is a new start for me." "I'm not a very patient guy, but I understand that I have to be," James said this week. And those who know him best know it's going to be an ongoing challenge to accept his new circumstances. James' goals, definition of success and management of failure have to evolve. "Ad nauseum" was how one of the people involved in the decision-making described the frequency of the talks about how different this journey would feel. For the 2018-19 season, Vegas has the Lakers' win total pegged at 48. Even before his eight straight NBA Finals appearances, he was on back-to-back 60-win teams that were upset before the Finals. The Lakers are on a different timeline toward a championship than any team James had been on for more than a decade. In the weeks after this past NBA Finals, James and his friends and family had deep discussions on how he'd psychologically manage a move to the Los Angeles Lakers. His euphoria in 2012, when he got his first title after several Finals defeats, and then in 2016, when he won in Cleveland, were a result of shedding the pain as much as of victory. Some of the darkest times in his career have been after Finals losses. When he doesn't win, it can devastate him. As he has said on numerous occasions: "Any team that has me has a chance." He plays to win and he competes at the highest level regardless of the circumstance. This is James' personality, it's who he is. Even though his Cleveland Cavaliers were heavy underdogs to the Golden State Warriors, James very much believed he could lead the Cavs to an upset. It was an extreme example of his intense competitive spirit. James' teammates and coaches had never seen James quite in that state. In the moments after the Game 1 loss in the NBA Finals in May, a combination of rage, frustration and disappointment led LeBron James to explode in the visitors locker room in Oakland and punch a whiteboard, cracking a bone in his hand.