"LeBron James taps into his inner Kamala Harris" - Jason Whitlock quips at Lakers star's deep dive on staying locked in for 22 NBA seasons

On the season premiere of LeBron James and Steve Nash's Mind The Game podcast, the two spoke about a wide range of topics, from the X's and O's of the game to the preparation that goes into playing at the highest level.

During the episode, Nash asked James whether there was any better feeling than being 'locked in.' In response, James explained that while he always had a mind for the game, he had to learn how to become a professional.

However, a clip of his response appears to be cropped so that the footage begins mid-sentence, leading to criticism from individuals like former ESPN reporter Jason Whitlock. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Whitlock compared him to former US Vice President Kamala Harris, writing:

"LeBron taps into his inner Kamala Harris. He is unburdening himself of what has been."

The clip has been used in several memes, with fans joking that LeBron James's response is akin to when someone tries to dance around a subject they're unfamiliar with in a job interview.

For example, the specific post reshared by Whitlock had 405,000+ views at the time of publication and 2,200 likes.

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What did LeBron James actually say in response to Steve Nash's question?

As mentioned, the viral clip of LeBron James begins mid-way through the four-time NBA champ's sentence. Given that, let's look back at the question James was responding to and the complete response of the future Hall of Famer.

The question from King James's co-host, two-time MVP and Hall of Famer Steve Nash, came at the 9:30 mark of the first episode of Season 2 of Mind The Game.

At the time, Nash asked James if there was any better feeling than being locked in and whether there was a specific moment in his career when a lightbulb went off that made him realize the importance of "the process."

While asking his question, Nash - a now-former coach of the Brooklyn Nets - mentioned how impressive it is to him that LeBron James is still working to be at the top of his game 22 years into his career.

In response, the LA Lakers star said:

"I would say probably around year seven or eight, I was around 25, 26." James said. (10:03 onwards) "When I first entered the league, I always had the mind for the game ... when I became a professional I could think the game, and I knew my body was ready for the game."

"What I did not know or what I did not have.. I didn't have enough accumulative hours put in on perfecting the process."

As LeBron James goes on to explain in the segment of the clip that went viral when he was in high school, he was playing alongside his friends; however, once he got to the NBA, he learned there's another level of preparation that the best players in the world reach.

The full clip can be seen above, with Nash's question beginning at 9:21.