Even at the age of 40, LeBron James continues to play basketball at a high level for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The four-time NBA champion just completed his seventh season with the team and put up impressive numbers in nearly every statistical category alongside co-star Luka Doncic.
Given all that he has accomplished in a career that has spanned more than two decades, it is easy to forget James was once a rookie looking to find his way in the league.
James said his early training routine was simple and consisted of playing pickup games with friends as opposed to having a strict trainer, via his “Mind the Game” podcast:
Kids don't need basketball trainers, they need to get outside and play.
Tune into Pt. 1 of Luka's special episode: https://t.co/feX8eUUnvm pic.twitter.com/KPIqw3YEzp
— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) June 1, 2025
James revealed that he didn’t get a basketball trainer until his fourth year with the Cleveland Cavaliers and that all of his on-court work before games was simply playing against teammates.
LeBron was the most hyped up prospect coming out of high school and went on to spend 11 seasons with the Cavaliers across two separate stints, leading them to an NBA title in 2016.
James also had a four-year run with the Miami Heat in between his time with Cleveland before joining the Lakers for the 2018-19 season. The 21-time All-Star hasn’t thought about retirement yet but is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
During his latest podcast appearance, James also explained what made him fall in love with basketball, noting that he was inspired by players such as Michael Jordan, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and Grant Hill.
LeBron James discusses more teams using zone defense in playoffs
The Lakers didn’t have the ending to their season they were looking for as the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated them in five games.
Among other topics discussed on the latest episode of his podcast, LeBron James broke down why teams have been turning to a zone defense and the positives it can bring.
“The whole nuance and the whole mind behind playing zone early on was to just break the rhythm,” James said. “This offensive team, they’re in too great of a rhythm vs. the man. We’re trying everything we can do as far as pick-and-roll coverage, iso coverage, all these coverages and they just have a rhythm. So the best thing to do, OK, just drop into a zone, break the rhythm, you can get em out of this action, maybe get them out of this action. Or, it’s not even about the action. When you come down and you see a zone, the mind now, you’re starting to think instead of move. Instead of just going and reacting to whatever happens, now it becomes a thinking game and we know that all five guys on the floor, the thinking game is not suitable for them. I think it’s a great piece to have in your package to be able to go to something where you can just change the momentum, change the landscape of what it looks like out on the floor and that could be like you said, a 3-2.”
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