LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena on February 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers are about to meet again in the NBA playoffs.
It’s a rematch from last year’s Western Conference Finals, a series that the Nuggets won in four games.
A lot of people point to that series as one of the reasons why the Nuggets should be a heavy favorite in this year’s rematch but Lakers superstar LeBron James isn’t one of them. He thinks it’s irrelevant.
“I think you’re putting a little bit too much emphasis on it,” James said, via ESPN. “This is our first-round matchup. I mean, we’re looking forward to the postseason. But I haven’t been, like, looking forward to the rematch. The game is played how it’s being played, and this is the matchup. So we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
The Lakers have the opportunity to pull off a major upset after they beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament on Tuesday. James led the Lakers in scoring with 23 points and was closely followed by D’Angelo Russell (21 points) and Anthony Davis (20 points).
“It shouldn’t be personal at all,” James said when asked about potential payback. “I think you allow yourself to get away from the game plan when you make it too personal. We have a game plan. You go out there and execute it and you live with the results. I’m kind of the last person you should [ask that] — I just stay even-keeled. I’ve been in the postseason way too long in my career to know that you don’t get too high off of Game 1 or get too high over whoever the matchup is. You got to just stay even-keeled.”
Game 1 between the Lakers and Nuggets will be at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Denver.
