LeBron excited to watch other games in ‘AAU for grown men’

Starting with Thursday night’s Lakers-Clippers and something that will almost certainly continue tonight when the Lakers face the Raptors, other NBA players have already been seen taking in the action of their peers at the NBA Bubble. Among the attendees of Thursday’s game were LeBron’s close friends Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, as well as other stars like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The moment to have his friends watching such an important game was big for LeBron and it’s something he always wants to take advantage of while at the NBA campus, which LeBron likened to “AAU for grown men,” as reported by ESPN’s Nick Friedell.

“I think it’s a respect thing,” James said. “We’re all brotherhood, and definitely having CP and Melo. … Looking over there and seeing some of our guys in our league … I think it’s just pretty cool and hopefully throughout the course of this time that we are here I can make it to a few games too just out of the love for the game. You don’t have that much time to watch a game live over the course of a regular NBA schedule. … It’s a big AAU feeling for grown men and I want to try to take advantage of it.”

James hasn’t shown up as a fan for any games yet but with an opportunity to seal up the No. 1 seed, he may have been too focused on getting his recovery right for this evening’s big opportunity.