LeBron James admits he’s homesick as the NBA season has restarted, with players quarantining together in a “bubble” at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. On Monday, James talked to reporters about the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Utah Jazz, and his comments were bittersweet.
“I miss the hell out of my family,” he said, according to USA Today. “My wife, my kids, my mother. And so on and so on. So, it’s a huge challenge.”
James has been married to his wife, Savannah, since 2013. They have three children together — two sons, 15-year-old LeBron Jr. and 13-year-old Bryce, and a 5-year-old daughter, Zhuri. But despite missing his family, the outspoken activist expressed that he’s not only still looking forward to playing out the NBA season to potentially bring the Lakers to a championship, he’s also very aware of the impact the league can have on the current Black Lives Matter movement. So far, James and other players have redirected press conference questions to continue to shed light on the death of Breonna Taylor by police, and during the start of the season Thursday, players took a knee during the national anthem, linking arms and wearing T-shirts reading “Black Lives Matter” to call attention to racial injustice and police brutality.
“It’s given us the opportunity to, every single day, speak about, feel passionate about, whatever is going on in your personal life, whatever is going on in society and us trying to make a change,” James said. “It’s being dynamic and being heard.”
NBA teams are sequestered at Walt Disney World hotels for the remainder of the regular season games and upcoming playoffs to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among players and their families. The athletes from 22 of the 30 teams started quarantining at Walt Disney World Resort nearly a month ago to prepare for their return.
360aproko recently spoke to Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin, who talked about watching the current basketball season, since his team didn’t make the cut to travel to Orlando for the modified second half of the NBA season.
“I think guys are just excited to play basketball again, and I’m excited to watch,” he said. “I’m trying not to pester these guys too much, because I’m sure everybody wants to know how the bubble is and is asking them the same questions, but [they’re] also trying to concentrate on their season.”
