EL SEGUNDO, California – Lebron James He said he initially felt “skepticism” regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, but ultimately decided to get it for the well-being of himself, his family and his team.
“You’re always trying to find ways that you can be available and protect each other and have the best possible opportunity to be available to your teammates, available for what we have to do on the court,” James said Tuesday during Los Angeles Lakers media day at their practice facility.
“The ultimate goal is obviously to win a championship. And it obviously starts with health as the main thing. We’re excited to hear that we’ve given each other another chance to be available to each other, and that’s what it’s all about. “.
Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said last week that he expected his entire roster to be considered fully vaccinated by the opening night of the regular season in mid-October.
Coach Frank Vogel said his players’ collective decision to get vaccinated could end up not only being a health and safety measure, but also a competitive advantage, as some teams in the league, including another championship favorite in the Brooklyn Nets , they still have unvaccinated players.
“It’s big,” Vogel said when the Lakers welcomed reporters to their building for the first time in nearly 18 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Obviously, you don’t want to be compromised in any way with an extended absence or quarantines or quarantine exposure. They were expensive. [las ausencias] last year for our group. Not all teams in the league this year have that luxury, but we do. “
“We felt like there were a lot of conversations and education to get there along the way and I’m very proud of our guys for making that commitment and I hope we don’t have some of those interruptions like we did last year.”
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