LeBron James' Year 21 Health Strategy Revealed
Considering that he is entering his 21st year in his career, there's no doubt that LeBron James has had a storied career. While most players typically experience a decline in their level of play as their careers progress, LeBron has shown no signs of it. However, during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, he has only managed to play more than 60 games on one occasion due to injuries. This is a pattern that the Lakers would like to change, and they may have found a solution to address it.
What is the Plan?Lakers head coach, Darvin Ham, unveiled the strategy to maintain LeBron's health and disclosed their close collaboration with LeBron James's trainer, Mike Mancias, in devising this plan. Ham's statement, as reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN, was as follows:
"Just kind of easing into it,"
"The fact that our roster is what it is, he doesn't have to come start the season with his cape on, so to speak. ... The help that he has around him will allow him to not have to be full throttle in every practice and every preseason game."
"The fact that our roster is what it is, he doesn't have to come start the season with his cape on, so to speak. ... The help that he has around him will allow him to not have to be full throttle in every practice and every preseason game."
There's no denying that the Lakers were active in the past year, making significant moves. Notably, they acquired D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt during the 2023 season through trades. In free agency, they added Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, and Christian Wood to their roster. Hopefully, this influx of new talent will ease the burden on LeBron James and enable him to play at his own pace.
Everything Must Come to an End
LeBron James currently holds the title of being the oldest player in the NBA, and he's set to celebrate his 39th birthday this coming December. Recently, he made an intriguing statement about his career and the possibility of retiring after the 2023-2024 season.
"I don't know. I don't know. I can't (expand on that) because I don't know. I'm happy right now, I'm excited. Looking forward to tomorrow and getting the training camp going. I don't know what the end of this road looks like or at the end of the season. I have no idea."
LeBron James is technically in the last year of his contract, unless he chooses to exercise the player option for another year. However, LeBron still has one remaining goal to achieve before he can consider his career complete:
"I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,"
"Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him."
"Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him."
Bronny James will be eligible to play in the NBA during the 2024-2025 season. This means we may have less than 5 years left with this all-time great.
Lakers Expectations for this Season
Currently, LeBron seems to be at 100% and should be able to give his all to the Lakers team. Last season, he averaged 28.9 PPG, 6.8 APG and 8.3 RPG, and there is an expectation that he will continue his dominance. The new additions to the team should help a lot with their 3PT shooting and defence. Anthony Davis has also seemed to take on more of a leadership role and could end up being the number one scoring option this season. This Lakers team, led by a motivated and healthy LeBron James, has the potential to contend for a championship in what may be one of the King's final opportunities to achieve glory.
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POLL | ||
October 7 | 37 answers LeBron James' Year 21 Health Strategy Revealed When will LeBron James decide to retire? | ||
After this season | 10 | 27 % |
After his contract with the Lakers | 10 | 27 % |
After he plays with Bronny | 17 | 45.9 % |
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