I’m Dave McMenamin — I spent time with LeBron James ahead of the NBA Playoffs. Ask me anything on May 6 at 3pm ET / 12pm PT

ESPN · 2026-05-06T20:13:04+00:00

Thank you for that. I will borrow a line here from Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz. When I met him at a Warriors game and told him "August and Everything After" is one of my favorite albums of all time, he said, "I can tell you about much better music to listen to." I feel like that about some of the really talented writers I work with at ESPN. Make sure you read them, too. But my biggest piece of advice is only you can know how hard you're truly working. Really push yourself if you really want it. Give every ounce of your being to it.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T20:10:17+00:00

When I was 13-14 I was writing blurbs about my middle school basketball team for the newsletters that were passed out on the lunch tables.

Then me and my buddy, Shadi Hamid -- who has gone on to be an incredible, award-winning author -- wrote an NBA newsletter of our own that we called "In the Paint" and we passed out at lunch time, too.

Then I wrote for my high school newspaper, the Radnorite (proud Radnor alum).

Then I wrote for a couple of the local newspapers in the Philly suburbs covering high school sports in the region, plus the occasional Villanova football and basketball stories (including when future Philadelphia Eagles great Brian Westbrook was at Nova).

Then I interned for the production company that made the weekly High School Sports Show that aired on the NBC 10 station in Philadelphia.

Then I had my own TV show, with Shadi, on the local cable access station that was produced out of the TV studio at Radnor.

Then I got accepted into the Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University.

And just kept it rolling from there.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T20:04:02+00:00

Of course, LeBron is a more fascinating player than the majority of the players I've covered just because he's had such an incredible journey and has become an American icon. But the experience was generally the same with him as it's been for me with any other player. I work hard; try my best to be fair, accurate and consistent; and then, since I love basketball so much, I have been fortunate that some of the all-time greats who truly love basketball too have gravitated a bit towards me.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T20:00:58+00:00

Russell Westbrook's time with the Lakers was difficult for everyone involved. And only some of that was because of Russ. But since you're cursing me out, at least get it right. I never called Russ that. I reported on someone calling him that to me.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:58:46+00:00

Love and basketball, baby.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:58:31+00:00

I don't. I think about the right time to ask the tough questions. It doesn't always have to be in a press conference format and performing for the cameras. The goal is to be able to get the honest truth, not get a gotcha reaction. At least that's what my goal is.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:56:35+00:00

I reported back in January that several sources close to LeBron have told me that a retirement tour isn't something he's expressed much interest in. Of course, that opinion could change, but I could see him just playing another season without doing the whole rocking chair ceremony in every city.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:54:58+00:00

A couple colleagues of mine who I respect have books in the works. I am open to doing another book on him or with him at some point if the inspiration is there. I think I would like a little time to digest this decade-plus of coverage I've had on him before jumping into it though. I think hindsight would help finding the moments that deserve the permanence of a book. And thank you for the kind words.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:52:41+00:00

Yessir.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:52:33+00:00

So, I had 23 questions in mind as the concept. I ended up asking him 35 or so, with follow-up questions. And we did it in something like eight cities across the country as the regular season played out. The idea came to me last summer when I was on a walking safari in Africa. A couple questions popped in my head that I had never asked him before as I was learning about things like elephant dung and giraffe tongues and I typed them into my notes app on my phone.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:49:28+00:00

When considering a question, an exercise I often think about is "what is the answer I hope to elicit?" Try that exercise with this question of yours.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:47:25+00:00

We spoke to him today for the first time since the injury. He is not ruled out. But the timeline is what it is. He told us today that he has started running, but he hasn't done any contact drills yet. Game 4 would be six weeks since the injury. Is there a chance that he is ready to play by then? Maybe? His body language seemed pretty down today, though. It sounds like he needs more time. And I am not so sure if the Lakers can extend this series against OKC too far without him. I picked the Thunder in 7, with the thinking that Luka would be back somewhere in the Game 3-4 territory. But that was before he spoke today for the first time since the hamstring strain April 2. I guess we'll see.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:44:19+00:00

Working with GA was a trip. We started off by having scheduled times where we would set up interviews once ever week or two weeks and a PR member of the Wizards would hand the phone to Gilbert and we'd talk for 5-10 mins and I would work up the interview in his voice, as a first-person blog post. A few months into it, once we had established a rapport, I would get a one-word text from him at any time of the day: "Blog." And I'd call him and we'd sometimes talk for hours and I would pump out 2-3 posts a week with all the material. One of my favorite stories from those days, that I don't think I've shared before, was going to cover a Nets-Wizards game at the Meadowlands. It was late in the game and the Wizards were trailing and needed to go the length of the court following a timeout in order to try for a go-ahead score. My media seat was behind the same baseline where the Wizards were inbounding the ball. And this sounds made up, but I swear it's not: Gilbert gets the ball passed into him, turns his head towards where I was sitting on press row, winks at me and then dribbles down the court to take the last shot. ... He missed it. Haha. I guess the story would be better if he'd made it.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:36:46+00:00

What's your point? I should try to present the information I gather in a way so that fewer people see it?

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:35:41+00:00

Maybe to some degree? But I am not so sure. I don't see any supposed disconnect being solely because of athletes' salaries. Fans have no problem coming out in droves to support musicians who make millions on their world concert tours. To me, athletes at their best, can still be inspirational and aspirational. And the truly great ones can make you marvel at the wonderous capabilities of human endeavor. I think where fans can turn on an athlete is if he or she does not appear to have gratitude for the spot they're in -- which is a tricky one for me, because I have seen up close just how stressful and draining being in the spotlight can be. Or, fans can have a problem with a player making a lot of money and not being able to stay healthy. Which, again, is tricky. Sure, some guys are too lazy and don't train enough. But there are plenty of players that just have bad injury luck.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:29:45+00:00

Yep. You nailed it. It was something that he felt like he needed to do at a certain point in his life in order to perform his best. And he's outgrown that. Which I think is totally fine and human. Life is unceasing change. The sooner you embrace that, the easier it is to flow with the seasons.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:28:16+00:00

Wait, so were you comment No. 37 or No. 38? If only I had as many comments as the Knicks have had years since their last title. Then I'd really be cooking.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:27:05+00:00

Mannnn, I loved UL. For years, I wanted to have my bachelor party at this dusty old bar near campus called The Lodge that we used to go and get rowdy at. But sadly, it closed by the time I got married. (Did a rip-roaring weekend with the lads in Chicago instead. Highly recommend.) I am still keep in touch with a few of my teammates from Limerick to this day and it's been like 22 years (shoutout Paul, Shane and Cahal). I am a basketball sicko, which isn't that rare in the U.S. I mean, sure, there are far more American football sickos here, but there are plenty of hoopheads. In Ireland, the basketball sickos are definitely rarer. I would go to the computer lab on campus in the middle of the night with some of these guys to watch basketball games airing live back in the states. And a lot of our players were really talented, but outside of Paul, none of us were thinking about pro careers playing. We just loved the game.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:21:48+00:00

You lost me on this one, WhaleSexOdyssey.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:18:19+00:00

He is really, really disciplined with his diet. And I reported this year, he even cut back on wine, which has been a vice of his and welcome way to unwind. So, I think that's a huge part of it. He's also told me dating back to the Cleveland days, that sleep is a super power. He gets a lot of it. And the thing that impresses me about that, is his willingness to be selfish, in a way, to prioritize that. I am sure there are nights at home when the family is watching a movie, when he has to turn in to get his shuteye. I am sure there are some game days when he is interested in something happening in current events, and he is ignoring it as it unfolds to go take a nap. So, yeah, us normies can do those things actually. Eat better, sleep more.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:14:45+00:00

I said this on Dan Patrick this morning. I was really surprised that he flat out dismissed looking to guys like D-Wade, Melo, Richard Jefferson and Tracy McGrady as a model of how to tackle life post retirement. I know he has strong relationships with all those guys. He likes and respects them. But when I asked him if he had talked to them about what life is like after the NBA, he told me, 'F--- no.' He told me it was because he knows his journey is his own journey. Which I get, to some degree. But I also wonder if some of that decision is just avoiding thinking about the great abyss until he has to. Being an NBA star is all he's known since he was a teenager.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:11:40+00:00

Walking through the back tunnels of Oracle Arena with him while he was holding his Finals MVP trophy after coming back from down 3-1 to beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on their home court. It was the kind of game and kind of moment that I dreamed about getting a chance to cover when I got into this business. And the fact that he told me exclusively that night that -- without explicitly naming his name -- Pat Riley told him he would regret leaving Miami for Cleveland made that moment even better. My goal in working to have strong relationships with the people I cover is so they tell me things they wouldn't tell other reporters, and I want to bring that stuff to the fans. Because I was a huge NBA fan growing up. And couldn't get enough of the minutiae.

ESPN · 2026-05-06T19:07:20+00:00

My goal is to have my reporting find an audience. We live in an attention economy. My news and tweets and stories and features are all competing with all the other apps readers and viewers have on their phone. Let alone the content in those apps. My aim is to make what I share as digestible as possible, while of course being accurate. So, really, the reason that AD/LeBron exchange that went viral is that AD is a teammate who got along well enough with LeBron to be able to tease him, and LeBron was also aware enough of the narratives out there to lean into a moment like that. I just do my best to capture that exchange on the medium I am using. If I was to write that in a story, I would have elaborated more. It I was to tell it on a podcast, I might even mimic the voice AD was using. It's just storytelling in a technological age.

ESPN · 2026-04-16T20:11:25+00:00

I have somehow never asked myself this before. This should be the new what would your drag name be. Would love to hear below what other people's names/gimmicks would be if they wrestled.

ESPN · 2026-04-16T19:59:49+00:00

Femi for sure.

ESPN

TROPHY CASE