James defends the Lakers 2020 championship, calling it the "purstrous" basketball game

In the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast co-hosted with NBA legend Steve Nash, LeBron James refuted the continued criticism of the Los Angeles Lakers' 2020 NBA championship, calling the Orlando rematch championship the "purstrous" basketball game.

40-year-old James recently completed his 22nd NBA season, responding to long-standing controversy over the legitimacy of the Lakers' 2019-20 championship. The championship was won in Orlando during the league's unprecedented COVID-19 quarantine park. The Lakers beat the Miami Heat in six games to win the team's 17th championship.

"I agree with many people that this is the purest basketball. It is purest basketball," James said.

James stressed the lack of typical lifestyle disturbances and amenities in the quarantine park, and pointed out that the quarantine park forces players to focus on the game in the event of limited movement and limited external interaction.

"We all have the ability to do whatever we want in our lives. We make a lot of money, we have all the channels. But in the quarantine park, that's gone. You can't just say, oh, I'm going to eat in a restaurant, or I'm going to do this. You can't do nothing," James said. "Everything in the rematch park is related to basketball."

He acknowledged that the 2020 season had a wider background, including players' calls to oppose police violence and social injustice. But as far as the game itself is concerned, James insists that the test of players in the rematch park is something that traditional seasons do not have.

LeBron James emphasizes the psychological challenges brought by the rematch park, and the Lakers focus on offseason adjustments:

"When basketball becomes the focus, it's all over," he said. "That level of concentration in all the championships I have won - how long can you keep it done?" James pointed out the psychological and emotional stress that the rematch park environment has brought to players who have been isolated from their family and familiar daily life for months. He said that this challenge is not only about physical performance, but also requires strong mental self-discipline.

"If you want to be distracted, you have a lot of reasons because you're used to a certain lifestyle and you're like, 'Go to hell, I don't want to do this, why am I here?'" James said. "I can't eat a certain type of meal, I can't do this, I can't see my family, I can't concentrate... and you can easily escape the reason why you are here."

Since winning the championship in 2020, the Lakers have reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023, but have suffered from the dilemma of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in the past two seasons. After being eliminated in 2025, the team is expected to begin a major restructuring centered around James and new teammate Luca Doncic in the offseason. Luca Doncic joined after Anthony Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in the middle of the season.

James has a $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season and has not yet announced whether he will return to the Lakers. He has won the NBA championship four times, won the MVP four times, and is the league's all-time scoring leader. He also became the first player in NBA history to score more than 50,000 points in regular season and playoffs.