LeBron James Trains Shirtless With The Lakers To Prep For Return Of The NBA: ‘We Back’

View gallery

LeBron James is putting in the WORK as the NBA plans for its return. On July 1, the Los Angeles Lakers shared a new video of the team back together and training for their upcoming games. The footage shows LeBron walking into the gym, then working out and shooting hoops while shirtless. Other players are also featured in the clip, which was captioned, “And we back #LakeShow.”

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1278521659285106691

The 2020 NBA season was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. With quarantine and stay-at-home orders in place since the, the players have not been able to get back on the court — until now. At the beginning of June, a new plan was approved to finish the season. The season will resume on July 30, with 22 teams each playing an additional eight games to determine seeding for the playoffs.

Once that’s figured out, 16 teams will move onto the playoffs, which will be formatted as usual. The remaining games will take place at a single-site campus at World Disney World Resort in Florida. There will also be strict health and safety protocols in place as the coronavirus continues to loom in the United States. Of course, part of those health protocols mean that no fans will be allowed in the arena to watch the games.

Before the NBA decided to suspend the 2020 season, LeBron was very vocal about not wanting to play basketball if fans could not attend the games. “That’s impossible,” he told reporters at the beginning of March. “I ain’t playing. That’s who I play for. I play for my teammates. I play for the fans. That’s what it’s all about.”

Of course, now that the threat of the coronavirus is very, very real and thousands of people have died from the disease, he’s obviously changed his tune. LeBron and the Lakers will return to the court against the Los Angeles Clippers on July 30. Their other upcoming opponents include the Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.