His battered body may have healed long ago, but the mental scars of losing for a fourth time in the NBA Finals remain raw for LeBron James.
"It gets worse and worse every time," he said.
On the eve of the Cavaliers' opening training camp for the new season, James says while it was difficult to handle losing to Golden State in six games, the journey is worth the physical and mental anguish.
"I will take all the pain that comes with competing for a championship at the end of the day," he said Monday. "I'll take all the bumps and bruises that I get when I'm playing because I know that I left it all out on the floor."
For the second straight year, Cleveland, which is also home to Australian Matthew Dellavedova, is the presumptive pick to emerge as Eastern Conference champion.
The Cavs appear to have all the pieces to support James this season with the exception of forward Tristan Thompson, who remains at odds with the franchise over a new contract.
But James, who is also represented by Thompson's agent, Rich Paul, is confident an agreement can be reached.
The offseason was a chance for James to recover and get ready for the grind of another season. He'll be 31 in December, but the four-time Most Valuable Player said another birthday hasn't raised his sense of urgency to win a championship. That's the case every year.
As usual, James spent the summer fine-tuning his stunning game, even working out three times per day, five days a week to get ready for the season. And while he wouldn't reveal what he worked on, James has hinted his mental approach will be similar to his second year in Miami.
His first season with the Heat ended with a loss to Dallas in the finals. James and his teammates took the floor the following year with an edge.
"When we came back, we were angry," he said. "We were very, very, very, very angry. And everybody that we went against knew it when we came back."
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