As Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has entered the latter stages of his career, there was an expectation that his level of play would drop significantly. Up to this point though, that drop-off has yet to happen as he is set to enter his 22nd season.
Coming off an All-NBA Third Team nomination and playing 71 games at 39-years-old is unheard of, but James was able to do that for the Lakers in 2023-24. Last season was the most games he played wearing the purple and gold while averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists on 54% from the field and 41% from 3-point range, a career-high.
To build off that season, James is presumably entering his final Olympics run with Team USA. Former USA legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski reflected on his time coaching the Lakers star and shared a message for anyone hating on the 39-year-old, via The Herd with Colin Cowherd:
“I noticed him when I started coaching him, how smart he was. You’re a little bit shocked at the athleticism and just an amazing athlete that’s there. And then you add intelligence, then you add a command voice, then you add leadership and then you add something that a lot of people don’t have and that’s the will to prepare to win. Everyone wants to win, not everyone will pay the price every day, every year to be at their best. Before practice, he has the same guy helping him for two decades, he stretches for over a half hour and he preps his body. And while he’s prepping his body, he’s prepping his mind and he’s just so damn prepared. He and Kobe, I thought were just above everyone in preparation, physical, mental, you name it. When they were on the court at a practice or in a game, they wanted to be the best, all the time, all the time and they paid the price for it. For anyone who knocks LeBron in any way, they’re crazy. We’re not going to see anybody like him, he’s one of a kind. Just what he’s doing in the Olympics, his verve, his demeanor, his attitude, he helps his team by how he looks, not just how he plays. I want to play with a guy who looks like him because there’s hardly anybody who looks like that. I mean, facially, not just body-wise. The face of a champion, this guy has that face of a champion.”
Krzyzewski said it perfectly with James’ preparation every single day, both mentally and physically, obviously playing a major role in why he is still playing to this day. No other player will come close to James, especially when it comes to being a top-10 player at 39-years-old.
LeBron James focused on medals, not milestones for Team USA
At this point in LeBron James’ career, he has accomplished seemingly everything but yet maintains that winner’s mentality. With another gold medal on the line in Paris, he is only focused on that and not milestones for Team USA.
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