We Have The Audio Of LeBron's Postgame Chat With Lonzo Ball, And It's More Odd Than Inspiring12/15/2017 "Find your zone and just stay f—ing locked in. The media is going to ask you what I told you right now. Tell them nothing. Just be aggressive every single day. It’s white noise to you. That’s all it is. Alright? Let’s go." ------- I know what you're asking yourself, and the answer is yes - I do see the irony (i.e hypocrisy) in making LeBron's relatively ordinary pep talk newsworthy when the thesis of it was that the media turns the relatively ordinary into headlines. That said, it's not LeBron's insistence to stay focused, be aggressive, and block out distractions that I care to discuss, but rather the insistence that that overly typical advice stay classified. Like, we had to use the stalker-esque software of Harriet The Spy to unveil the most empty of inspirational speeches? It's cool that LeBron wanted to privately share words of encouragement with a younger player that deals with a familiar amount of scrutiny, but treating those words like they were National Security codes seems a bit excessive. Honestly, "tell them nothing" is the type of command you expect to hear muttered into the ear of a hostage who has a six-shooter jammed into their spine, not spoken by a savvy vet to a struggling rook from under the cloak of a decidedly non-soundproof jersey. Don't believe me? Just look at the blank, wide-eyed stare of Lonzo Ball as LeBron basically whispered sweet, suggestive nothings into his ear. That's the appearance of a guy whose listening far too intently considering the subject matter. I bet he walked away from that interaction feeling the same way you or I feel when a friend tells a story that they so drastically oversold that it appears to end on the crappiest of cliffhangers. Considering I was left saying "wait, that's it?", I can only imagine the 20 year old who had to verbally agree not to disclose his high school-level consultation felt the same. Of course, if LeBron really wanted it to stay a secret then he would have delivered his all-important message somewhere other than the middle of a professional basketball court in front of tens of thousands of people with easily accessible means of technology, but - as we know - he subscribes to the "pics or it didn't happen" philosophy.
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