LeBron James clearly has no sympathy for the Golden State Warriors and their current situation having had to face them in the 2015 NBA Finals without his running mates.
It’s been a testing few months for Golden State, ever since losing the NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors.
The NBA Playoffs proved challenging enough with DeMarcus Cousins first going down with an injury.
But then both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson suffered long-term injuries, with the former opting to leave in free agency to join the Brooklyn Nets.
It meant the Warriors came into the new season as underdogs for the first time in several years as Steph Curry held the mantle.
However, the two-time MVP then suffered a broken hand leaving Steve Kerr short of All Star options.
That was all before James faced off against the Warriors for the first time since he suffered a groin injury against the western conference team on Christmas day last year.
He played just 26 minutes, finishing with 23 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers improve to 9-2 for the season while the Warriors languish towards the bottom of the table.
Speaking after the game, James was asked whether it felt strange facing a Warriors team depleted of all their former talent.
“Not when you’re in it, you know,” he said.
“Not when you’re in it.
“I think when I’m watching them, you know, when I’m at home and we’re on off nights and I’m watching them — then it becomes weird then just seeing Klay in a suit and, you know, not seeing Steph out there.
“But not when you’re playing.”
The 34-year-old then paused before adding a little extra that suggested he didn’t feel bad for their current situation.
“I played them in the Finals without Kyrie [Irving] and Kevin [Love]. So no,” he added.
The three-time NBA champion was referring back to the 2015 Finals, when both Irving and Love were out for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James would carry the load for the Cavaliers, averaging an incredible 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists throughout the series – scoring 40 or more three times – take the Warriors to a Game 6.