LeBron feels Lakers have grown too accustomed to losing

Dropping basketball games doesn't sit well with LeBron James, who hasn't been a part of a losing season since his rookie year in 2003-04.

Following the Los Angeles Lakers' 128-115 road loss to the Anthony Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, James sounded fearful that his squad has grown numb to losing.

"The last few years, everyone's so accustomed to the losses that I’m just not accustomed to. I’m not accustomed to it, I would never get comfortable with losing," said James. "Losing Game 1 to Houston, it feels the same way as losing Game 59 in New Orleans, for me. That’s just how I’m built. That’s who I am."

James' younger teammates - Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and an injured Lonzo Ball - have only been a part of subpar teams since entering the Association. The Lakers haven't finished a campaign above the .500 mark since 2013, which was also the last time the franchise qualified for the postseason.

"How many know what’s at stake if you’ve never been there?" added the four-time league Most Valuable Player. "When you’ve never been there or know what it takes to actually shoot for something like that, sometimes you’re afraid to get uncomfortable. You’ve got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

"I’m not saying that’s what we are as a whole - it kind of looks that way at times that sometimes I feel like we’re afraid to get uncomfortable, get out of our comfort zone, have that sense of urgency from the jump and not be afraid to actually go out and fail to succeed. We have, what, 23 games left? We’ll see what happens."

The Lakers (29-30) now find themselves 3.5 games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They'll battle the 23-38 Memphis Grizzlies on Monday before returning to Staples Center on Wednesday to face the Pelicans once again.