All of the hype surrounding LeBron James’ move to Los Angeles will come to a head on Saturday night, as the former MVP will make his Lakers home debut against the Houston Rockets. James made his debut with the team on Thursday night in Portland, but the league decided to spend their first Saturday primetime slot on his first regular-season game at Staples Center as a Laker.
It’s a big day for the franchise, which is looking to return to glory after a few years of a rebuild that kicked off once Kobe Bryant retired. James gives Los Angeles star power that it hasn’t had since the end of the Kobe era, and to celebrate the fact that he’s gotten to this point, Nike put out a new ad to pay tribute to the journey James has taken throughout his NBA career.
https://twitter.com/Nike/status/1053681185677697024
The video features a number of clips from James life and career — both on and off the court — playing over a press conference from a month before the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. A young James talks about how there was no pressure surrounding him as he came into the league, and once he finishes speaking, a graphic pops up that simply states “It’s only crazy until you do it. Just do it.”
Going to the Lakers does bring some amount of expectations, but if 2018 LeBron follows 2003 LeBron’s advice, those expectations won’t lead to him feeling all that much pressure.
