When it comes to playing with a great player like LeBron James, there are many upsides to it. Many hardships come with it, as you’re held to a higher standard than playing alongside someone who is not a star in the league.
Current ESPN analyst and former 17-year NBA player Richard Jefferson spoke about what it is like to play with LeBron. He mentioned how it can actually “suck” to play with such a great player.
“Hell yeah, there’s cons. You want to know what the con is? Here are the cons. Playing with LeBron sucks because you’re trying to win a championship. That he’s one of the most competitive human beings in the history of American sports and sports in general.
“Does it suck when you’re showing up and he’s already been practicing for four hours and you’re like, ‘oh sh**’. When he’s watching a film and you mess up a play and he’s just like, “Motherf***er, what are you doing?”
“And it’s like, yeah, those are the cons, but there were cons for playing with Jordan. There were cons to playing with Kobe. There were cons to playing with players who were so great that they demanded excellence. There were cons for playing for Pat Riley or Popovich, or Spoelstra. There’s always cons.”
Jefferson makes valid points. Great players will hold their teammates to higher standards. It was because of these standards that Jefferson can now call himself an NBA champion.
So, even though it may have sucked to play with LeBron, Jefferson wouldn’t trade it for the world.
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