In his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers in the West, James claimed that the likes of the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers made a concerted effort to reach the NBA Finals now that they no longer have to go through him.
The 76ers started by acquiring Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers and then added Jonathon Simmons and James Ennis to their bench at the deadline after acquiring Jimmy Butler earlier this season.
The Raptors added center Marc Gasol to play alongside Kawhi Leonard, while the Bucks traded for Nikola Mirotic to compliment Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Those top teams in the East, yeah, they’re going for it,” James told The Athletic. “Toronto is going for it, Milwaukee’s going for it, Philly. Boston [Celtics] believes they can do it, too. They know they ain’t gotta go through Cleveland [Cavaliers] anymore.
“Everybody in the East thinks they can get to the Finals because they ain’t gotta go through me.”
James revealed he’s already excited to watch how the Eastern Conference playoffs unfold with the new additions.
“S***, I was excited seeing all the moves they made in the East,” James said. “Those matchups in the second round, in the Eastern Conference finals, that s*** is gonna be crazy. It’s gonna be fun to watch.”
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