At this point in his career, everyone in the world should know better than to doubt LeBron James. With that being said, he’s coming off of a season filled with injuries, posting career lows in games played (55) and minutes per game played (35.2), where, at times, he displayed a sub-par defensive effort. This was also his first missed postseason after 13 straight seasons in the playoffs and 8 straight finals appearances. As a result, for the first time ever, since ESPN started making their list ranking NBA players, LeBron James was NOT at the top of it. MOTIVATION! LeBron, who is entering his 17^th season and turns 35 years old in December, slightly touched on the extra motivation he feels in an interview at media day with Spectrum SportsNet’s, Allie Clifton:

Clifton: “You’ve always said you don’t need any extra motivation…”

 James: “But I got some this summer. But I’m not going to talk about it. My mom told me… I wish I could elaborate a little bit more, but by mom told me. She was like, ‘Don’t talk about it. Be about it.’ But there’s some motivation for me. There’s a lot of conversations going on this summer and I’m just very quiet, very quiet. And I’m just going to maintain quiet, but I am very motivated.”

In my opinion, LeBron needs to enter this season with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, as he is coming off one of the worst seasons in his career. This goes beyond stats, because a season with averages of 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.3 assists has only happened seven times in NBA history. But when you are the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball (Yes, LeBron is the GOAT!) the expectation is, no matter what obstacles you are faced with, you find a way to succeed. This wasn’t the case last season for the Lakers and injuries definitely played a huge part. LeBron only played 55 games, Lonzo Ball only played 47 games, and Brandon Ingram only played 52 games. When Anthony Davis requested a trade, the chemistry in the locker room also took a big hit. But, enough with the excuses. LeBron, AD, and the Lakers have to come into this season with laser focus if they want any chance of contending for the title in June.

The main focus this year for LeBron and the Lakers is going to be on the defensive end of the floor. LeBron was criticized heavily for his defense last season, but the Lakers added players that will help team defense tremendously. The additions of Anthony Davis (one of the best players/defenders in the league), Dwight Howard (a 3 time DPOY award winner), Avery Bradley (who wants to show he’s “the best perimeter defender in the NBA”), and Danny Green (who just helped the Toronto Raptors win their first title with his defensive tenacity and shooting), paired with the hiring of a defensive-minded head coach Frank Vogel, could put the Lakers very close to the top of the league defensively.

This is somewhat of a milestone season for LeBron and the Lakers. With him entering season 17 and questions about how much he truly has left in the tank, some view this year as one of LeBron’s last opportunities to be extremely dominant before Father Time taps him on the shoulder. With the NBA being as balanced as it has been in recent memory, this is the perfect opportunity to go out and prove the haters wrong. Let’s also not forget, Anthony Davis is the best player LeBron has ever played with in his career, no disrespect intended to Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving, or Kevin Love. A healthy, well-rested, motivated LeBron, who is locked-in defensively and paired with another top five talent in Anthony Davis can spell trouble for the rest of the league. With the added talent to this new Lakers team along with the extra motivation and new focus defensively, season 17 for LeBron James could possibly end up looking like MVP number five, Finals MVP number four, and Championship number four for LeBron James.