Unlike one of his former teammates who plays for the Brooklyn Nets and one of his interstate rivals on the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James has gotten the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the tip-off of the 2021-22 NBA season.
“I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family, and things of that nature. I know that I was very [skeptical] about it all,” James said while speaking at UCLA Health Training Center during Lakers’ media day on Tuesday. “But after doing my research, and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and for my friends, and that’s why I decided to do it.”
In addition to being beneficial for James and his family, having one of the NBA’s top players free and clear of potentially missing time to due to violations of the league’s health and safety protocol is huge for the Lakers.
“You’re always trying to figure out ways that you can just be available and protect one another and put yourself in the best possible chance where you are available to your teammates, available to what we need to do on the floor,” James said. “The ultimate goal is to obviously win a championship. And it starts with, obviously, health as the No. 1 thing. We’re excited to know that we’ve given ourselves another opportunity to be available to each other, and that’s what it came down to.”
James sharing his reasons for getting the jab comes as some players around the league are citing “personal reasons” or declining to say why they haven’t gotten vaccinated the way 90% of the league’s overall players reportedly have done.
One of the players who has gotten the shot, James’ teammate Anthony Davis, shared why he got vaccinated.
“I personally did it for my family,” Davis said Tuesday. “I just wanted to make sure I would always protect my family, and that was first and foremost, and myself and everyone else around me. And I feel like everyone on the team feels the same way.”
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