BEIJING – It is no secret that LeBron James is one of the best players in the world - if not the best player in the world.
This morning, I found out one of the reasons why. It was 6:15 a.m., and I was just starting my workout. In walks James, no other player in sight. Arguably the best player in the world on the world champion Miami Heat and he is the first player in the gym to start his workout. About 15 minutes later, Chris Paul comes through the door. For the next half-hour, the two best players on the Clippers and Heat and two of the best players in the world were the only players in the gym. What does that tell you?
I left about an hour later after finishing what was, in comparison, I will call a little fake workout. Those two guys were dripping wet and still going hard. I have no idea how long they worked out, but I do know that they had to stop to go to practice and work out again in a full practice with their teammates. Wow!
After breakfast, the Clippers held practice. It was another very well-run practice and reminded me of a John Wooden practice. The drills were precise and fast moving, and the players participated with a great deal of enthusiasm. It is extremely apparent that the players like each other a lot and root for each other during their workout. This is a tremendously confident group that is working very hard to be great. They intend to make a lot of noise in the NBA this season and are putting in the time and effort to get it done. Incidentally, there were over 150 media members watching practice today, and it was almost like a feeding frenzy on Blake Griffin and Paul as soon as practice ended.
From practice, the team went directly to an NBA Cares event. It took place at a migrant school in the middle of Beijing. China's school system is a little bit different in that you are born into your school district. The families that move into Beijing for work do not fit into the system. So the migrant schools were created for the children of such families. It was quite a touching event, as it was clearly the first time any of these children had been up close to an NBA star. The Clippers put on a clinic for the students, and the NBA donated a learning center complete with computers and many books. The players seemed genuinely touched, as did the students.
The team had the next few hours off but then attended a reception in the evening. The reception honored the players and gave a chance for local sponsorship and fans to meet and greet. Every event has been better than the next. Tthe NBA only knows one way to do things, and that is first class.
Tomorrow is game time, and I can't wait.
