LeBron James delivers explicit warning against testing his patience

You don’t want to be around LeBron James when his patience runs out.

Just ask him.

James spoke with reporters after Monday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that dropped the team to 2-5 on the season.

Lakers not meeting expectations early

Not many expected these Lakers to contend this year, but a 2-5 start falls on the low end of expectations and is certainly something James isn’t accustomed to.

Of course the postgame questions were largely about the team’s struggles against Minnesota and how the team needs to adjust after several close losses.

James dutifully answered questions, giving thoughtful responses on what the team needs to do to perform better.

But when a reporter asked him about what he looks like as a leader when his patience runs out, well – he had a message that appeared tailored for that reporter.

Don’t test LeBron’s patience

“You probably don’t want to be around when my patience runs out,” James said.

Lest anyone in the room think he were joking, James punctuated his patience warning.

“Seriously,” James said.

Message for media or teammates?

While that’s a message that appeared to hit its intended target directly, it’s seems one he doesn’t mind his teammates hearing either.

James is not accustomed to losing and had just talked with reporters about making the same mistakes over and over agin. The Lakers look great on offense, but they’re not defending anybody and struggled mightily on the boards in Monday’s loss.

If there are fixes to be made along the lines of effort and fundamentals, James expects those adjustments to be made sooner than later.

If his teammates don’t make those improvements, it may be sooner than later that they see what James looks like when his patience runs out.

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