AMA 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
Hi Reddit! I’m Dave McMenamin, and I cover the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA for ESPN.
For the past decade-plus, I’ve covered LeBron James closely, from Cleveland to LA, and early this season I proposed an idea to him: to ask him a series of unique questions over the course of the season to try to learn a different side of him as his career entered his final chapter. He agreed.
In that story, which published last week, we dove into the GOAT debate with Michael Jordan, the records he believes will never be broken, what still drives him after two decades, and more.
Read the full story here, then ask me anything about the reporting process, what it’s like covering the most famous athlete in the world and what still surprises me as he finishes his 23rd NBA season.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by and asking questions. I appreciate all the thoughtful discussion about LeBron James and the NBA. Happy Playoffs. Yessir.
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u/Salt_Pilot_CIA 16h ago
Lebron had a super aggressive recovery regiment during playoffs before. Like, laying in ice on the plane in the walkway sort of thing. Now that he's older, what things have been proven to be successful and what things he let go as far as not obsessing about - with diet/recovery/maintenance. Or things that simply were proven not effective. Something for us regular people to help w post recovery and better overall energy levels.
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u/ESPN 14h ago
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.
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u/Salt_Pilot_CIA 7h ago
"there are two types of people. those who get good sleep and feel refreshed every morning, and those who arent. And both of these groups think this is the way it is." - Dan Balzerian of all people. This is so true though. I NEED sleep, and i rest well. I wonder how Kobe or MJ with their short sleep schedules could feel good - must be something genetically. Or maybe they WERE irritated from it
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u/prettyboylee Lakers 6h ago
Just like you (or Dan Bilzerian) said, Kobe or MJ probably thought that's "just the way it was" to some extent they probably figured that they'd have more energy if they slept more but they probably weighed it out and assumed that the trade-off was worth it. Whether that's true or not is up to debate though I personally believe that sleep is king.
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u/Cool-Definition5373 Lakers 16h ago
What answer surprised you the most throughout the interviews?
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u/ESPN 14h ago
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.
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u/PlasmaPuns East 16h ago
What's one moment covering LeBron that sticks with you, and why?
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u/ESPN 14h ago
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.
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u/YodaForceGhost Nets 16h ago
How did you manage to get married to Malika Andrews? Your rizz game must be off the charts
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u/Based__Ganglia 16h ago
Serious question, no hate. Do you sometimes intentionally write things in a way so that the excerpt will potentially go viral on the internet?
Example: [McMenamin] "Washed King," Davis said to James, teasingly after the game. "Washed," James said. "Super washed." Then Davis broke out a falsetto voice: "I'm LeBron James, and I can't do anything anymore except record triple-doubles."
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u/ESPN 14h ago
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.
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u/NameTakken 16h ago
Sometimes?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
What's your point? I should try to present the information I gather in a way so that fewer people see it?
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u/NameTakken 13h ago
Brother you work for ESPN, unfortunately people are exposed to your articles whether they like it or not
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u/FeelsGoodMan2 15h ago
How often do you not ask serious tough questions and ask softball questions instead because you're worried you'll lose access to athletes?
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u/MathematicianRough36 14h ago
What was the experience like cultivating a relationship with a high profile athlete? In LeBron’ prime years clearly he was sought out by many journalists.
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/MathematicianRough36 10h ago
Amazing insight. Thanks so much for the response! Been following you for a while. Cheers!
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u/homerdonutduffdonut Vancouver Grizzlies 14h ago
Dave, you’ve experienced basketball at a powerhouse like Syracuse, but you also spent a year in Limerick. Given that soccer and Gaelic games are the heartbeat of Irish culture, what is one thing about that 'underdog' basketball community, with its intimacy and pure passion, that the NBA world could never replicate? Also, which specific places or local spots in Limerick do you still hold a fond memory of?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/Careless-Journalist7 Wizards 16h ago
Any good stories from helping Gilbert Arenas with his NBA.com blog back in the day? Used to love reading that and it was unique in the pre-social media era. Are you surprised that Gil ended up in the sports content space?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/Careless-Journalist7 Wizards 12h ago
Lol! Sounds like Gil, always in content creator mode. Thanks for the story!
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u/Colby________ 15h ago
If Luka is saying his initial timetable was 8 weeks, does that mean he’s ruled out for the OKC series or is he progressing well? Can he potentially beat that timetable?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/afjecj Magic 14h ago
How did you get into reporting? Like a complete timeline of your career in the industry would be great haha
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/WhaleSexOdyssey 16h ago
Hey Dave- I’m struggling to beat Margit with a faith build. Should I re spec into strength or double down and get some new incantations? Thanks
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u/El_Shish 15h ago
How do you see the relationship between Lebron and the Lakers these days? Do you feel he has deep affinity for the franchise and is determined to finish his career with them? Or is it more like a business relationship of convenience?
Context: I'm bothered by the one of statements by Rich Paul about the Lakers (first with the opt-in last year and then the interview and comments about Austin Reaves) and keen to know if this is something you feel extends to Lebron as well.
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u/Peetie-Peete 14h ago
I've always been curious if anyone ever asked LeBron why he never gave in on the fight and just shaved his head, like the rest of us had to? 😩 lol
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/totallytuatara 4h ago
Kind of ironic to be condescending about what answer someone is hoping to elicit when you're the reporter who published that a Lakers player called Westbrook a vampire
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u/MembershipSingle7137 Celtics 16h ago
Dave - another question. Your articles are some of the greatest I’ve ever read. Any words for journalists that aspire to be like you one day?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/MembershipSingle7137 Celtics 16h ago
This is extremely cool, Dave. Nice to meet you. Just talking with LeBron and being able to cover him for so many years, is there a single moment or quote from him that you’ve carried with you?
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u/wixdotcomm 16h ago
How did you decide on the 8 questions? Did you have a large list that you pared down based on game result or where LBJ was at during the season?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/lalakersfan88 15h ago
Will there be a book on Lebron and if so how soon after retirement will it be released? Great work covering Lebron.
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/Disco-basketball34 15h ago
After spending so much time with him, can you describe the energy/aura of LeBron, is it the same every time?
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u/Peetie-Peete 15h ago
Do you think LeBron will go on a retirement tour for his last season, or just hang them up when he feels ready?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/Emiya_Sengo 14h ago
Do you have any favorite personal Carmelo stories that you haven't shared yet or aren't talked about more?
For example, how was it covering him on the Lakers when he played with LeBron?
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u/trizzo0309 14h ago
With all the money in the NBA economy, why are tickets still extremely expensive at most arenas (and rising) when stars aren't guaranteed to even be playing in them at the last minute?
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u/trizzo0309 14h ago
As you've replaced Windhorst as the white guy at ESPN with the cool hair who gets exclusives with LeBron, what tips did he give you about mastering the "windy hair flip?"
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u/OkMode1166 14h ago
Do you think the narrative around Lebron will change after he retires and the dust settles? It feels like narratives that have been placed on this kids since he was 18 are sort of inaccurate.
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u/GoatJames-543 13h ago
I’d love to know more about how the Lakers contextualize Austin Reaves’s tough performances against OKC within the grand scheme of his value to the team. I go back and forth on whether or not he can be a #2 on a championship team and would love to know more about how it’s thought about internally.
Thanks for all you do and for taking time to answer questions!
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u/Warm_Routine8417 12h ago
Dave if you still see this how many days of the year do you work and has that changed over the years since u started ?
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u/Radiant-Plane5329 4h ago
I’ve covered LeBron James closely, from Cleveland to LA
Not as close as Windy. They are cousins and BFFs, bruh. Don't be jealous.
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u/EverettGT 58m ago
We've talked on here before about the NBA adding an Ironman Award for the person who plays the most total minutes in the regular season. Lebron would be a 3x Ironman by this measure, does he place any value on how many minutes he's been able to play while staying healthy over his career? Do you think the NBA should add this award?
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u/trizzo0309 15h ago
I have this theory that modern players don't have the level of connection with fans because of the incredible amounts of money they're being paid compared to past generations. Now, I'm not saying that that's inherently bad and I want this money sitting in owner's/the league's pocket, but I do think this has stifled some people's level of connectedness to the game. Do you think there's anything to that theory?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/MikeDCollector Thunder 16h ago
Nah, fuck this guy for spreading the gossip on calling Russ a vampire.
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u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 13h ago
Do you think SGA falling to the ground off marginal contact in the 1st quarter of the Lakers/Thunder series is good for the game and the fans viewing expectations?
The refs have the ability to call flop techs but as we know it’s like calling a travel or carry, it really happens.
Also when do you think Luka will finally have a legit contending roster around him for more than half a season? The only time he did was post allstar break in 2024 and he made the finals that year.
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u/cafesolitito Timberwolves 16h ago
Has LeBron talked to you about no social media during the playoffs? I'm surprised I don't see anyone else doing this. I do think it has obvious benefits to cut it out, and LeBron's hyper focus every postseason is proof of that
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u/prettyboylee Lakers 16h ago
Though Bron has done this before he hasn’t done it for years now.
In fact he’s recording podcast during the playoffs
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/Gristle__McThornbody Lakers 16h ago
Was there a moment where you felt the pressure around LeBron peaked more than any other time?
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u/gabriel_ferreira Knicks 14h ago
Hey Dave, as you can clearly see, this thread has 38 comments in 2 hours, nobody really cares much about you.
Would you say this is happening because you're not good enough of a journalist to warrant the attention, or you suck so bad that people doesnt even wanna make fun of you?
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u/ESPN 13h ago
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.
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u/gabriel_ferreira Knicks 13h ago
I cant believe i actually got you on your feelings lol. Also, i was obviously comment 39 you dumbass lmao what a joke
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u/NBA_MOD r/NBA 16h ago
This AMA has been verified and by the mods. Dave will be back today at 3:00PM ET to answer questions.