Categories: Courtside

LeBron James discusses how he’s grown in the last year

The maturation of LeBron James will come full circle tonight if he and the Heat knock out the Thunder to claim the NBA championship During Wednesday’s media session, LeBron spoke about his growth as a player and person over the last year.

“Last year after Game 6, after losing once again, I was very frustrated,” LeBron said. “I was very hurt that I let my teammates down, and I was very immature.

“Like I said, last year I played to prove people wrong instead of just playing my game, instead of just going out and having fun and playing a game that I grew up loving and why I fell in love with the game. So I was very immature last year after Game 6 toward you guys and toward everyone that was watching.”

LeBron said that last year he felt the pressure, but this time around it is not getting to him.

“Last year (the pressure) was much more than today,” James said. “I remember being Game 5 last year with the series tied 2-2, it just felt like more pressure, felt like it was more people here, felt like you guys (in the media) not only brought yourselves but brought your relatives all to Dallas. It just seemed more.

“And I may be wrong. I probably am wrong about that. But I’m just more comfortable. I think just me being more comfortable and me just trying to seize my opportunity.”

Count me among those that will be happy to see LeBron win. Of course he won’t be able to truly enjoy it because the follow up question is immediately, “how many will he get?”

Jill Munroe

Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-based host, producer, and writer. You can find her work on sites such as FoxSports.com, EURweb.com, and MSN.com. Munroe is a current member of the African-American Film Critics Association and the National Association of Black Journalists. Munroe has also been a frequent guest on ESPN radio and Yahoo Sports. In 2015, Munroe released her first book, "PostGame Pass: access into "the life" JillMunroe.com