LOS ANGELES (USA): Superstar LeBron James said he was keen on getting back into action and hoped the NBA season resumes soon.
James, speaking on the “WRTS: After Party” programme on the Uninterrupted multi-media platform, said, “Definitely not giving up on the season.”
Lakers led the Western Conference when the NBA suspended play on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.
The virus brought global sport to a virtual standstill, but as lockdowns aimed at preventing its spread have begun to ease, sport has begun to re-emerge.
Germany’s Bundesliga became the first top European football league to resume after a two-month hiatus at the weekend.
In North America the popular NASCAR stock car series resumed without spectators on Sunday and golf stuck a toe in the water with a made-for-TV charity event featuring Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.
The NBA, along with Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer are still formulating plans to return, while the NFL tries to stay on course for an on-schedule season opening in September.
“Not only myself and my teammates, the Lakers organization, we want to play,” James said. “There’s a lot of players that I know personally that want to play. And obviously, we don’t ever want to jeopardize the health of any of our players or any of the players’ families and so on and so on.
“This is a pandemic that we have no idea — we can’t control it,” James said. “We’re going to listen to the people that’s been following this pandemic, following the numbers, following the data.”
The Lakers own the second-best record in the league behind Eastern Conference leaders the Milwaukee Bucks and were already assured of a spot in the playoffs — which were due to start in April.
James has said he doesn’t relish the idea of playing without fans in attendance, but he said Monday he just wants to be back on court.
“You know, I want to get back to playing,” James said. “I love to play the game of basketball. I know how inspiring the game of basketball is. I know how inspiring sport is, itself.
“As soon as possible, when we can get back out there, we’d love to bring the game of basketball back to our fans.”
