But it’s also more involved than that.
James said it starts with “falling in love with doing things that’s uncomfortable.”
“For us to be great, we have to do things that are just not comfortable. We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. That is the best way to expedite being great,” James said. “… And if we can do that, we can be a great team.
“If we don’t do that, then we’ll be like, “Oh man, that was a great team on paper and we had a lot of great talent and we also sat around.” I don’t want to do that. I don’t need my family to lose in the second round. I know that for sure. Work needs to be done, and I’m ready to get to work.”
Joel Embiid
Bill Streicher, Imagn Images
Collective sacrifice will also be needed, which James said isn’t a negative, though the word could come off with a negative connotation. That sacrifice doesn’t necessarily mean changing roles because of the roster’s overhaul. Instead, it means embracing the little things that “don’t show up in the box scores.”
“With the group of guys we have, no one mentioned that everyone’s role will probably be different. And that’s for the greater good,” James said. “… It’s not a negative when people say, ‘Okay, you have to make a sacrifice or your role may change.’
“We’re trying to do something special — which I believe we are — then that’s a positive. So many guys that’ve been in our league over the course of my career have never made a sacrifice in their career, and they average 20 points and 22 points a game. (But) they’ve had one or two postseason appearances and zero postseason wins. If that’s the way you want your career to be, then that’s fine. Everyone has different goals, but I don’t think anybody in the locker room has that feeling and wants their career to be like that, or we wouldn’t be there.”