In a recent appearance on the ‘Club520 podcast,’ NBA veteran Grant Williams told stories of exclusive treatment for LeBron James during the NBA bubble. While other players were stuck in their rooms, Williams claims that LeBron had his own house in the bubble, stocked with all the amenities one could need.
“LeBron had the penthouse on the top with wine… he had a house on the campus,” said Williams. “LeBron legit had his own setup. They were taken care of.”
The bubble was the NBA’s response to the COVID-19 virus, which went rampant around the world in early 2020. After shutting down all regular-season action, they were only able to resume play under certain conditions that no player was prepared for. One such condition was keeping teams contained to a quarantine zone in Orlando, Florida.
According to Markieff Morris, however, LeBron was confined to a room just like everybody else. His own teammate, Markieff Morris, confirmed on X that he was just a few doors down the hall, and that they would play video games almost every night.
“Lol cap he was two doors down from me! Dog was locked down just like the rest of us,” wrote Morris. “We had a Madden league. We played all the games in his room. We was damn near gaming all night!”
LeBron didn’t just rot away during the downtime. Even in less-than-ideal conditions, in unfamiliar ground, he made the most of his free time by opening his door and spending quality time with his teammates. Playing Madden may seem like a simple activity on the surface, but it allowed the Lakers to build chemistry and keep morale intact during a critical period.
Of course, that team went on to win the championship that season in arguably the most taboo and bizarre NBA playoffs of all time. Despite the empty arenas, mediocre conditions, and visitor restrictions that spelled the end for several contenders, the Lakers overcame it all, thanks (in part) to LeBron James’ unwavering leadership.
Regarding Williams’ claims, it’s possible that the Lakers had reserved some kind of private clubhouse for the team where guys could go and hang out as a unit. Whatever the case, the Lakers did enough to win in the face of overwhelming odds, and it’s his most crowning achievement as a Laker so far. He helped his team turn a bad situation to their advantage, making NBA history in the process.
