LeBron James isn’t worried about slowing down in 16th season
By Cody Rivera
Even though he’s 33 years old, LeBron James doesn’t want his coaches to limit his minutes in order to keep him fresh.
LeBron James is 33 years old, and he’s starting his 16th season in the NBA.
There’s no doubt his body has been through the grinder as an athlete. After all, he’s reached the NBA Finals in eight consecutive seasons, as a member both the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, meaning that he’s been playing from October all the way through late June every single year since 2011.
There can be a lot of wear-and-tear that comes with playing that long of a season every year, but James has always been in absolute peak condition, and he isn’t worried about his body slowing down as he gets older. Now he’s playing his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and when it comes to coaches potentially limiting his minutes in order to not wear him down … well … he thinks it’s a little bit unnecessary.
“I’m always fresh,” James said, according to ESPN.com. “All my coaches want to figure out a way of how to lessen my minutes. I keep telling them I’m strong enough to play (the) most minutes, but they won’t listen to me, so it’s OK. I like it.”
However, it’s unlikely that LeBron’s minutes will actually be limited, as Lakers coach Luke Walton knows he’s dealing with the best basketball player in the world. If James wants to play more minutes, he’s going to play more minutes.
“I told him … that his legs seem to be getting younger as training camp goes on,” Walton said. “It normally works the other way. But he’s jumping higher, he’s moving quicker the more we get out there and play. So it’s like I said: there’s one game tonight. We’re obviously excited to be playing regular-season games now, but he looks very good.”
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The Lakers haven’t been a title contender since Kobe Bryant was in his prime, but that’s exactly what they are now that they have the greatest player of this generation. The Lakers will tip off their season against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.