LeBron James fumes at NBA with Los Angeles Lakers preseason complaint

LeBron James questioned why the Los Angeles Lakers were forced to travel across the country to face the Milwaukee Bucks in a mere preseason contest.

With the 2024-25 NBA regular season tipping off in under two weeks, teams are in preseason season action. However, the Lakers possess one of the more chaotic schedules - including a 1,750-mile flight from Los Angeles to Wisconsin.

Ahead of his record-tying 22nd NBA season, James took to social media to question the necessity of the trip and the game. On Wednesday, the 39-year-old posted: “Can someone please explain to me why we're getting on a [plane emoji] and heading to Milwaukee for one preseason game!?!?”

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James’ Lakers are set to play six games in preseason this month with none of the games coming at home. The franchise was forced to schedule road games due to planned renovations to Crypto.com Arena, which is undergoing the third phase of its major renovation program since rebranding from Staples Center in 2021.

Last weekend, the Lakers opened the preseason with two games - losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns - in Palm Desert, California just two hours from their practice facility. JJ Redick’s team faces the Bucks before their final three preseason games over four days against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas, the Suns in Phoenix, and the Warriors in San Francisco.

When asked about the brutal travel ahead of the season, Redick was blunt. The first-year head coach told reporters: “Not an ideal preseason for us.”

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Traditionally, the Lakers play preseason games at home, on the road versus Western Conference teams, and in non-NBA cities such as San Diego. The Milwaukee game is actually part of a trade-off that saw the Bucks travel to Los Angeles last year.

Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell admitted he understood why travel could be frustrating for James and Anthony Davis after the duo competed for Team USA at the Paris Olympics . However, after a full offseason of rest, the 28-year-old is ready to play.

“I think for guys like AD and Bron who played all summer in the Olympics, they'll be load managing those guys,” Russell said earlier this week. “But the rest of us are still hungry. We want to go out there and play every game and put the Laker uniform on and see how the crowd responds to whoever is out there on the floor. Get some energy from that. So, for me, I look forward to having a good time.”

James and the Lakers begin the season against the Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 22.