LeBron James was in action on Friday night as the LA Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 129-119 in their final NBA Cup West Group B tie. James spoke to the media after the game, revealing that the game against the Mavericks was emotional.The four-time champion described the matchup as emotional due to playing against former teammates and coaches. He listed Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell, whom he played with in Los Angeles; Kyrie Irving, with whom he won a title in Cleveland; and Coach Jason Kidd, who was an assistant coach at the Lakers from 2019-2021.“I mean, you know, going against your old team … your old coach and staff,” James said. “Won a championship with Frank Vogel, with J.Kidd, … my teammates in AD, … D'Lo [D'Angelo Russell], Max [Christie]. I got a teammate that won another championship with Kyrie [Irving]. So, you look over there for me personally, obviously, the emotion is always going to carry that.”Davis marked his return to the Lakers, the first time he’s taken to the Crypto.com Arena since his blockbuster move to Dallas last February. Luka Doncic also played against his former team and put up an impressive outing, recording 35 points, five rebounds and 11 assists.LeBron James finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Davis on his return recorded 12 points, five assists and rebounds.Next for the Lakers is a road game against the LA Clippers on Saturday. The Mavericks host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.LeBron James speaks on his motivation behind record year 23LeBron James spoke with former teammate Dwyane Wade on Friday about his mindset as he takes to the court for a record-making year 23.“It’s about the process for me,” James said. “I don’t think about the result, I think about the process that I put into it to even get to the point where I can get to a game. So, it’s everything behind the scenes that gets me going before it actually starts.”James has defied Father-Time, breaking and making records along the way. While he wasn’t able to start the 2025-26 season due to a sciatica injury, the first of his illustrious career, he has been slowly eased in by coach JJ Redick. He is averaging 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, while shooting 49.1% from the field.