What LeBron James is doing at this stage of his career is nothing short of phenomenal. In his 22nd NBA season, he remains one of the best players in the league and is still capable of taking over games at any moment, as he showed on Christmas Day with his 31-point, 10-assist performance in the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Golden State Warriors.
With LeBron’s 40th birthday approaching, many have taken the time to truly appreciate just how good he has been and for how long. Lakers coach JJ Redick has witnessed it from the beginning and even he can’t believe how good James remains.
“I played against LeBron in high school so I knew that he was gonna be great in the NBA,” Redick said after a recent practice. “I don’t think you could ever predict, no matter how much the prognosticators label people that 16, 17, 18 years old whether or not they’re gonna be all-time greats, which he turned out to be. And to be clear, it hasn’t gone quickly for me the last 21 years.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling just to be in this position coaching him, playing against him for 15 years, taking three years of calling his games and then he’s still playing at this level. Feels like he’s just been doing this forever and not a small stretch in human history, but forever. And that just speaks to his competitive stamina and love for the game.”
Even the absolute best players become more like role players at this age, but LeBron is still putting up All-Star numbers. Like Redick said, playing against him in high school he knew James would be great, but there is no way to predict that he could be 22 seasons in and still be this good.
The Lakers are certainly appreciative of everything James continues to do as he nears 40 years of age and he makes things a lot easier for Redick as a coach as well.
Lakers coach JJ Redick has seen increase in LeBron James’ energy since time off
Even for how good LeBron James has been, JJ Redick and the Lakers have been smart in trying to get him some rest throughout the season. With LeBron dealing with a left foot issue he recently sat out two games, which gave him 10 days off. And since he came back, he has looked like a different player.
Redick noted that he has seen an increase in energy from LeBron since returning from that time off, adding that the staff also tries to give the star more short bursts as opposed to long stints on the court which allows him to be more effective.
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