Because of the Mind the Game podcast, we get to see a more unfiltered and authentic version of LeBron James. But recently, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar wasn’t inside a studio but outside playing a sport he fell in love with less than a year ago. The 41-year-old was golfing alongside the Bob Does Sports crew, a YouTube channel that has over 1.3 million subscribers.

It delivered a 70-minute-plus conversation not just about golf, but about the 22x All-Star’s journey from his rookie year, to the adverse effect of the decision to join the Heat, relationships with Kobe, his current role of nurturing his eldest son, Bronny James, as a teammate, and a more candid take on his retirement. But it all began with why he hates Memphis.

Would LeBron James have really played for the Grizzlies?

It began when host Robby Berger asked the 4x NBA champion whether travel for NBA games wears him down more as he ages. While stating the obvious, James also voiced his opinion that the NBA should move out of Memphis.

“I’m f–king 41 years old, you think I want to do that s–t being in Memphis on a random a– Thursday? I’m not like the first guy even to talk about in the NBA. Like, we all like you guys have to move. Go over to Nashville. You got Vanderbilt over there, got NASCAR. You got a stadium. Like they got everything.”

Other NBA stars like Anthony Edwards and Draymond Green have expressed sentiment of not liking their stay in Memphis. LeBron James was clear that he would avoid going there. Naturally, hearing this response, the next question was if he would have ever joined the franchise. The answer was blunt again.

“Their only chance would have been 2003 if they would have won the lottery, and I might have pulled an Eli Manning and not showed up.”

The NFL lore is that in the 2004 draft, the San Diego Chargers had the #1 overall pick. They selected Eli Manning, who refused to play for the franchise. It prompted a draft-day trade to the New York Giants.

LeBron James on Retirement

Throughout the video, the conversations were back and forth. LeBron James was trash-talking the crew while connecting some decent shots of his own. It also unearthed some memorable quotes from the Akron native. The question was when does he truly feel like a 41-year-old? And the answer, ” When I wake up”, said James.

“Yeah. I tell my teammates all the time, I go to sleep available, and I wake up doubtful. Every time I go to bed. I am completely available for the game. And when I wake up, I’m doubtful every single time. ” Then he also joked about how old he is and referenced the fact that he has played against 33.8% of all players who have ever competed in an NBA game.

“No, I seen some stat that made me feel so old the other day.” LeBron even said that stat did not make him feel good, but the feeling was not good. “I played against like 25 dad-son combinations,” he joked again. But the fact remains few of the players were not even born when Bron joined the league. There are also 82 active players who were born after his debut, including names like Victor Wembanyama, Cooper Flagg, and his own son, Bronny James.

Bronny becomes a purpose for LeBron James amid retirement decision

It’s the second season of the father-son duo in the league. While the retirement decision is still not finalized, LeBron knows he won’t cheat the process that he has followed since he was a teenager. “For me, I love the process. If I can continue to be process-oriented and I’m getting to the arena early like always do, 5 hours before locking in, excited about it, then I can do it forever.” The only reason he is not cheating is to set the right example for his teammate and son Bronny James.

“I have an even more of a purpose to show up to work, to work out to train because I know he’s looking like, okay,’ That’s how you be a professional right there.’ So, I have a responsibility with him around.” And the qualities that LeBron James wants to impart to his son were already visible to the host. The discussion was around how well-mannered and composed Bronny James is in any media interaction.

LeBron called his son “sponge” for observing him. “I think Bronny being around, you know, obviously, my whole career, he’s seen opportunities where how I handle the media, how they’ve handled me, and he’s taken it from there.” That’s why he even called him a “special kid”.

Kobe Bryant tricked LeBron

From their battles in the league to being teammates on the Redeem Team for the Olympics, there is a lot of shared history between the two. Before LeBron joined the Lakers, he was battling Kobe, and during one of their battles realized the tricks that Black Mamba had up his sleeves to dominate his opponents. The Lakers superstar revealed, “I swear he used to trick the s— out of me.”

He continued, “I’m like, what play is he running? (gesturing the hand signs that Kobe Bryant signaled). What the f— play is Kobe runnin’? Then every time they swing the ball to him, he goes iso. This ain’t no play, this guy trying to kill me,” LeBron shared.”

Years ago, Bron addressed this while he and Kobe spent time together on the 2008 Redeem Team. It took him 5 years to figure out what the hand signal actually meant.

The decision with the Heat that made him the Villain

When the Miami Heat acquired the Big 3 partnership of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James, it did not go as the players planned. James’ infamous The Decision brought about quite the heat during his four-year tenure. The team reached four finals straight and lost the first one to the Dallas Mavericks. That loss was so personal that he did not leave his room for 2 weeks after losing to the Mavs.

“Yeah. It was real bad. I took the villain role because I was young. I was 25 years old. A lot of people don’t understand, like that was the first time I ever left my home.” Since the Cavaliers drafted him, LeBron has only stayed in his hometown of Akron, so moving to Miami was a big change. It was his first time leaving his native place, and he even had to leave his family behind. But with the Heat, the decision also helped raise more than $3 million for charity.

Even during the introductory speech, LeBron James infamous words were “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven championships” in their welcoming rally in 2010. “The hate that I got from that, the backlash from that was going to happen because of how I felt doing it.”

This put him in a “dark place” as he accepted the villain tag from the media just for switching his team and celebrating his new career path. “I allowed the media, I allowed everybody to kind of put me in a dark place”. But his intentions behind were to never be arrogant or dismissive to other teams. In fact, he still has the heart of a kid.

“Shed that villain role like I’m getting back to myself and boom, we came in and balls to the wall.” He called the period a tough one, but acknowledged that it helped him be the man he is today.