LeBron opens up in SI interview

LeBron James opened up in an interview with 'Sports Illustrated.'

James discussed a wide-range of topics with writer Lee Jenkins.

Referring to the stress of last season, James said, "I lost touch with who I was as a basketball player and a person.  I got caught up in everything that was going on around me, and I felt like I had to prove something to people, and I don't know why.  Everything was tight, stressed."

James recently became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson.  He said, "Just like how I needed to take that next step as a player, I also needed to take that next step as a man."

James said he needed to step away from the villain mindset that the Heat had last season.

James said, "This is what you love to do and you've been doing it at a high level for a long time, and you don't really need to change anything.  Just get back to what you do and how you play, smiling all the time and trying to dominate at the highest level.  Do it with joy and and do it with fun and remember not too long ago this was a dream for you.  Playing in the NBA was the dream.  Don't forget that again.  Just go out and improve."

James had more than four-million followers on Twitter. He said it's a way to connect with his fans.

"Twitter can be an angry place," James said. "But I don't think people mean no harm.  Look, I wish it wasn't just us in this restaurant.  I wish I could be here with all my fans and we could all sit down together and have a nice dinner tonight.  Twitter is a way to try to do that."

The article appears in the April 30 issue of 'Sports Illustrated'.