LeBron James finally opened up about his feelings on the Los Angeles Lakers being eliminated from the playoffs by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finishing the season with the third-best record in the West, the Lakers were heavily favored heading into their first-round matchup against the Timberwolves.
Unfortunately, this series did not go as expected. The Timberwolves dominated the Lakers and eliminated them within five games. Although James gave his usual statements to the media at the postgame interview, his feelings about being eliminated had not been revealed.
During the latest episode of his podcast, ‘Mind the Game’, James spoke to former NBA star Steve Nash and clarified his thoughts and emotions.
LeBron James Gives Full Credit to the Timberwolves for Eliminating the Lakers
James revealed his honest thought process in the days following the Lakers’ elimination from the playoffs.
“You unravel all of those emotions and I’ve unraveled all of them in the sense of like, giving me space, going back and analytically seeing if there was ways I could have…What could I have done better, what we could have done better, thinking about the individual matchups, thinking about their team versus our team. Things where we could have did better…It all has entered my mind since Wednesday night when it was over with…”
James went on to share his disappointment, “Obviously, I’ve come to grips with it now, with it being quite a few days after the fact and watching a lot of the other series now and seeing how they unfold. But yeah, you said it, man. I’ve had all those emotions to the point where it it’s like what the…Sh*t we entered the season well but like you said when it comes to the postseason matchups sometimes just it doesn’t determine how well of a regular season you had. Its the matchups and we ran into a damn good matchup.”
.@KingJames reflects on why Minnesota had the upper hand in the playoffs.
Episode 5 is out now. Watch on our YouTube, @PrimeVideo or listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/zpZFpXGFPo pic.twitter.com/UqPSw0SnJi
— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) May 8, 2025
James then praised Edwards and the Timberwolves without feeling any real resentment, “A team that’s been battle-tested. A team that’s hungry. A team with a lot of youth but also experience at the same time. Another team that’s trying to make the next step. They were a worthy opponent, that’s for sure.”
Since the Lakers had more talent, experience, and a better record, the basketball community underestimated the Timberwolves heading into this series. Regardless of the talent on a roster, the individual matchups and creating the perfect mismatches play the biggest role in deciding the outcome of postseason games. In any case, James and the Lakers have a long offseason to get better for next year.
