Six years after leaving the Miami Heat in NBA free agency, LeBron James will go head to head with his former team in the NBA Finals as the face of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise.
James has come full circle after winning back-to-back titles with the Heat. He won a ring with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and now has the opportunity to do the same for the Lakers at the expense of Miami. James talked about facing the Heat in the Finals and his thoughts on Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra on Tuesday.
How does LeBron feel about Pat Riley…
LeBron called it "a broad question."
"Probably one of the greatest minds this game has ever had… This league is not the same without Riles. He's a great guy, great motivator, someone who just knows what it takes to win."
— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) September 29, 2020
Clearly, James has a lot of respect for Riley even though things didn’t end well in Miami in terms of the superstar’s exit. It appears he has the same respect for his former head coach.
Spoelstra has been able to help rebuild this Heat roster into a legitimate title contender once again, and that’s not lost on James.
LeBron on Spoelstra:
"The players & coaches know how great Spo is. And there's this narrative that Spo is not great…. He prepares his team every single night. They are going to play hard, they are going to play together. It's been u guys that have never given him his respect."
— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) September 29, 2020
Game 1 of the Finals will take place on Wednesday with James going up against his former team in what will almost certainly be an entertaining seven-game series. Miami has defied the odds throughout the playoffs and will have another tough challenge ahead against James’ Lakers.
As expected, Miami is the underdog once again as it goes up against Los Angeles in a battle for the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy. James will try to win a title for a third NBA franchise while the Heat will attempt to pull off one of the greatest underdog stories in NBA history.
