The NBA's Quick Turnaround Forces LeBron James to Cancel Family Vacation

LeBron James had lots to look forward to after the Los Angeles Lakers won an NBA title. Spending time at home with his family was at the top of his list. 

The grind of the NBA playoff bubble in the middle of a pandemic could not have been easy for James and actually if you ask him, he'll tell you it was really hard. James spoke to the media after he's been openly disappointed in the NBA's decision to restart so soon.   

Being completely honest, I wasn't expecting that because the early conversations that were going on, I was hearing it would kind of be a mid-January start and training camp would kind of start after Christmas. We would have an opportunity to spend Christmas with our families. So, I had already planned a vacation with my family, which I haven't been able to do obviously since I've been in the league. So, I had to switch up a lot of things when I heard the Dec. 22 start and with training camp starting obviously this week.
We're going to be as smart as we can be ... we're making sure I'm ready to (play). Obviously every game matters but we're competing for something that's hard. We don't ever want to short-change our stuff. - James via Broderick Turner, LA Times

James has a point. The NBA loves Christmas Day and for all their brightest stars to be shining bright on the game's biggest stage. And with that, James never gets to spend all of Christmas day with his family. All things considered, it felt like this year would be the year. 

Perhaps James can start the year with a very minor ankle injury. It's always about timing.

Let him spend Christmas with his family. For once. 

Photo credit: Ringo Chiu/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire