No matter what he does, LeBron James always receives criticism. Even when James wins championships or is playing flawlessly on the court, his haters still have something to say. With this being his 17th season in the league, though, James has become used to receiving hate. However, now, as he and the LA Lakers look to defeat the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, James has a brutally honest message about critics.

LeBron James and the LA Lakers have dominated in the NBA playoffs

For most of the regular season, James and the Lakers were among the best squads in the entire NBA. They ultimately went 52-19 overall and claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

James played at an MVP level all season too. He averaged 25.3 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, and a league-leading 10.2 assists. Of course, he has also had an incredible running mate all year in Anthony Davis, as Davis averaged 26.1 points per game, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks.

The Lakers struggled when they first came into the NBA bubble. However, they have since been dominant yet again in the playoffs. LA is 10-2 so far this postseason, as they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the First Round, the Houston Rockets in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals, and they are now up 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals on the Denver Nuggets.

In the playoffs so far, James is averaging 25.6 points per game, 8.7 assists, and 10 rebounds. Davis, on the other hand, is averaging 28.7 points per game and 10.7 rebounds.

Anthony Davis hit a buzzer-beater against the Denver Nuggets

The Lakers looked to claim a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. LA led for the majority of the game too. They went ahead 52-36 in the second quarter and eventually led 60-50 at halftime. LA also took a 70-54 lead in the third quarter, but Denver cut it to 82-78 at the end of the period, and then later took a 103-102 lead with 20 seconds left.

However, LA ultimately had the ball with two seconds left. Davis then hit the biggest shot of his career, as he knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers the 105-103 win, and the 2-0 lead in the series.

“Tonight was his moment,” James said after the game, according to Yahoo Sports. “Tonight was his moment to find a space, hunt the ball down and one of our top-10 assists leaders, [Rajon] Rondo, found him and he knocked it down. A big-time play.”

LeBron James had a brutally honest message about critics

While discussing Davis’ big shot, James discussed the importance of not worrying about the doubters.

“It’s about the work that you put in and the belief in yourself. It’s not about the doubters or the naysayers or the people who are going to try to talk to you and slander you and bring you down every single day. It’s not about them because they have never been in the arena. They don’t understand,” James said, according to Yahoo Sports.

James then ultimately gave a brutally honest message about critics.

“You put that pressure on yourself when you don’t really care what other people think, because what other people think doesn’t really matter because they don’t understand. Anybody can talk from outside, but if they got into the ring or they got into the arena, probably 10 times out of 10, they s*** their pants,” James said, according to Yahoo Sports.

LeBron James has dealt with critics his entire career. It seems that he can handle it because he knows that they wouldn’t be able to deal with the pressure if they were in his position.

Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference