Some NBA players cannot come to grips with their age, let alone the limitations that come as a result of that age.
(Shout-out, Kobe Bryant.)
LeBron James, though, is not one of those players.
As he approaches his 31st birthday (December 30), he has never been more accepting, or more obvious about accepting, that he isn’t the same immeasurably explosive and unfathomably spry superhuman from 2003, when he entered the league as a teenager.
This, to be clear, doesn’t mean LeBron hasn’t taken precautions previously. He’s been planning for the ill effects of age, he’s been fighting the battle with time, for years and years—since before it was, by NBA standards, even a problem.
As he told Yahoo Sports’ Michael Lee:
“I noticed my body changed at like 26,” said James, adding that he became more serious about a maintenance routine in his third or fourth season. “You try to be proactive throughout the years. When you get to a certain age, you understand what needs to be done to help your body be ready for the season, ready for the game, or whatever the case may be.”
…
“I think all of us have been proactive about our situations and that’s why we’re all playing at a high level still,” James said of himself, Anthony and Wade. “I’ve had a pretty good regimen for a long time now.”
The steps James takes to continue playing at an ineffably high level are more widely known thanks to the rise of Instagram and his pet project, Uninterrupted. Fans and pundits can see the work he puts in, the preparation that goes into ensuring he can last for 30-plus minutes every night against some of the world’s best athletes, many of them now younger than himself.
But we’ll perhaps never know the true extent of the lengths that LeBron travels just to remain at the top of his game. So much goes on behind the scenes, both pre- and post-game, on off days, during travel, at the dinner table, etc.
Love him or hate him, adore him or despise him, worship him or doubt him, there’s no questioning James’ commitment to the game, his health and, most importantly, his ability to stay MVP-like well into the twilight of his career.
