LeBron James has confirmed that he has, in fact, received the COVID-19 vaccine.
It’s been an exhausting 24 hours for fans of the NBA, with Media Days kicking off on Monday. The topic of the day was the vaccination status of multiple players, a few of which announced that they were unvaccinated.
The face of the league — LeBron James — had yet to announce his vaccination status before Lakers media day on Tuesday. When asked in May if he was vaccinated, James declined to answer.
“Anything I do off the floor is predicated to my family, for the majority — for 99.9% of that,” James said according to ESPN. “So it’s about the health and safety of my family, and that’s what it came down to.”
“Me being available to my teammates on the floor is me taking care of my body. Me doing everything I can do to make sure I’m available both mentally, physically and spiritually, as well. But anything of that nature, that’s all family talk.”
We now have our answer.
“I know that for me I can speak about myself,” James said on Tuesday. “I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family, and things of that nature. I know that I was very [skeptical] about it all, but after doing my research, and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and for my friends, and that’s why I decided to do it.”
The pressure to be vaccinated is immense throughout the NBA. New York and San Francisco have vaccination rules in place that will not allow unvaccinated players to play indoors, which would put teams at a disadvantage if a player is prohibited from participating in a game in either city.
Of the players that have either declined to disclose their vaccination status or have outright said that they are unvaccinated, most have pointed to it being a personal decision.
“It’s none of your business is what it comes down to,” Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors said. “I don’t ask you guys what you think is right or wrong. We’re different people … Who are you guys where I have to explain what I believe? Or what’s right or what’s wrong in my mind. We’re two totally different people. What you think is not what I think. What I think is not what you think.”
James parroted the message after being pressed by a reporter if the “issue was important enough” for someone with his platform to speak out.
“We’re talking about individual’s bodies,” James said on Tuesday when elaborating on his decision. “We’re not talking about something that’s political or racism or police brutality or things of that nature. We’re talking about people’s bodies and well-being. So I don’t feel like for me personally that I should get involved in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods.”
LeBron James explains his decision to get vaccinated, but wanting to respect others for whether they decide to get it pic.twitter.com/khPH3NePAX
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) September 28, 2021
The Lakers begin their regular season on October 19th against the Golden State Warriors.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].