As LeBron James nears his fourth NBA championship, it appears he is becoming nocturnal in an effort to remain vigilant about the task at hand of closing out the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Prior to a powerful Game 4 win, James reportedly shot his Lakers teammates a text message in the middle of the night with a simple message: That the following night’s game was a must-win.
“We see the message from our leader saying this is a must-win,” Anthony Davis told The Athletic. “and he just left it at that.”
As James would later explain it, the text was not only a byproduct of his fierce competitiveness, but also his inability to fall asleep lately. With Game 4 clinched and the Lakers on the cusp of a championship, James elaborated to reporters about his recent insomnia.
Here’s what he said:
“We understand what’s at stake,” James explained. “The job is not done. We get an opportunity to get our bodies back underneath us with an extra day of rest but also keep our minds sharp. I am looking forward, once again, to looking at the film tomorrow. Do all around the clock treatment and treating it like we play Thursday. I’m going to continue to get the work in and continue to not sleep until the job is done. So, I look forward to the next match.”
It may not seem like a great idea to play a deciding NBA Finals game having not slept in a few days, but at this point James’ judgment probably supersedes ours. If it pays off, he’ll have several months to get plenty of sleep before next season.
There are side effects to the no sleeping plan, as the King gets a little bored late at night in the Bubble. That much was clear when James posted a joking meme overnight following Game 4.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 7, 2020
Difficulty sleeping is understandable in James’ position, but it is admittedly pretty funny that he’s actively staying awake in order to keep his game face on.