In a story of 22 years, LeBron James has experienced several unpredictable ups and downs in the NBA. From the age of 18, the weight of expectations resides on his shoulders. It hasn’t shown, as he has continued to put up elite performances one after another. But it’s hard to perceive how an individual grades himself. So although he seemed unflappable, mentally, the Akron Hammer was counting the millions of people he would disappoint if he failed.

James shared his mindset on the recent episode of Mind The Game. Having the basketball world at his fingertips as a teenager, the King surely enjoyed the perks of being one of the most famous prospects in NBA history. But at the same time, the ‘Chosen One’ tattoo on his back carried a lot of baggage.

Notably, his desperation to win led him down the wrong road. Remember his infamous 2011 meltdown in the NBA Finals? During that run, one factor dominated his thought process. James grew anxious with the thought of failing, which drastically impacted his performance.

“Like even like my my second time in the finals, like my first year with the Heat, like I wanted to win so bad that I also had the fear of letting so many people down… And the hours that I put into my craft, the commitment that I gave to my craft wasn’t even like it wasn’t even the thought which should have been, right? It was more like, oh f**k if I go out and I make a mistake, I let them down,” he further added.

It amounted to him completely drowning under the pressure in 2011. In the first season since leaving Cleveland, James averaged just 17.8 points and 6 assists per game against the Mavericks in the NBA Finals. However, it seems that he needed that. It was from that point on that his mentality completely shifted.

As he revealed during a Twitter Q&A with his fans, “I hit the reset button, went back to the basics, worked on things in my game I needed to get better at so the defense couldn’t just sit on 1 thing. Hours & hours & hours every day in the off season on it,”. From that point on, LeBron James made it to the NBA Finals for seven more seasons.

Not once did he fold under pressure like in 2011 because the opinions and criticism didn’t matter anymore. James carried the philosophy of trusting his efforts to constantly improve. That allowed him to burst into surreal success. However,

The one time LeBron James had to speak back

In the time that James didn’t focus on the various opinions that came flooding in, there was also the drafting of his son, Bronny James. Many in the media felt he used his influence to move the pieces for the Lakers to draft him. The conversations were extensive. They pinned James for being the reason his son was even in the NBA.

However, as James said, these talks don’t move him anymore. So he didn’t react. That was until Stephen A. Smith came into the picture.

With Bronny James initially struggling, the reluctant Smith cracked and spoke about the situation. But his choice of words wasn’t the wisest. He targeted the Akron Hammer as a father. “I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad,” he had mentioned on First Take.

And for the first time, words affected the four-time champion. So while playing the New York Knicks, LeBron James noticed Stephen A. Smith in attendance. That led to the now-viral moment. The four-time MVP went right up to the ESPN analyst and told him not to speak about his son, Bronny.

The moment developed into a back-and-forth saga real quick as Smith continued to justify his take. But after a jab or two, James went right back to doing what he learned in 2011. Since then, he hasn’t responded to any claims the popular analyst has made.

Only when it came to his family did those professional virtues that are deeply ingrained break. As he heads towards the end of his career, fans will be hoping it does not have to happen, again.