LeBron James said he never allowed his family to attend his games while playing in 10 NBA Finals unless it was a closeout situation.
During the latest installment of his “Mind the Game” podcast, the Lakers star, who won four NBA titles in 22 seasons, explained that his wife, Savannah, and their three kids, Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri, stayed away from the arena because he didn’t want to change his routine.
“For me personally, I never let my family come to a Finals game unless it was a closeout game,” James told co-host Steve Nash. “If we were up 3-1, or if it was 3-3 or like Game 7 in the 2016 Finals, my family didn’t come until Game 7. It was just, I didn’t want to change anything.
“Obviously, if we had an opportunity to close out that final game… the family would be there. But other than that, I kept them home. Especially on the road, I didn’t want my family on the road during the Finals, and I’m trying to focus on not only myself, but carrying my team, making sure my teammates are locked in.
“And then if something happened in the stands with my family, it could very easily knock me out of my lockdown zone. Now, I can’t be as locked in as I want to because some idiot said something to my wife or my kids or my mom. Unless it was the closeout game, my family stayed home. And that’s how I always kept it and it worked for me and a couple of my Finals wins.”
James has a 4-6 record in the NBA Finals.
He won back-to-back titles with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013 before he returned to his hometown of Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers.
James helped break a 52-year title drought and brought a championship to Cleveland after the Cavs came back from a 3-1 hole to stun the Warriors in the 2016 finals.
In 2020, James won a title with the Lakers in the NBA bubble after overcoming the Miami Heat.
Despite not being in the arena for James’ historic moments, including two Game 7s in the NBA Finals, Savannah and their kids have supported him at his championship parades.
James is tied for the third-most Finals appearances in NBA history.