LeBron James is entering his 19th season in the NBA at 36 years old, and while you might think that means load managing, the ‘King’ is definitely not doing that.
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LeBron and the Lakers had a disappointing year last season. They were eliminated in the first round to the Phoenix Suns, the eventual Western Conference Finals, but knowing their ceiling, they know a first round exit is far below what they can achieve. Injuries were the biggest factor working against the Lakers last year.
LeBron missed the most number of games ever in a season, Anthony Davis was out for a majority of the playoffs, and in the end all of it added up to a disastrous result. However, lesser minutes won’t be the answer for LeBron as he looks to come back stronger this year.
LeBron loves this insane photo of him and Russ from last night. 🔥🔥🔥(📷:Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/HLD5ReQj2s
— SFG👑 (@_xLakers) October 15, 2021
LeBron James says he doesn’t like playing fewer minutes as it feels worse for his body
You might think that as you get up there in age, playing less would probably be more beneficial for you, but that’s not how LeBron feels.
Last season, he played the fewest minutes of his career in a season, averaging only 33.4 minutes per game. His injuries definitely impacted his play as in the first round, he put up averages of 23.3 ppg, 8 apg, and 7.2 rbpg on 47.4% shooting, numbers that are subpar for him. According to LeBron, his injury continued to nag him into the offseason.
“It took a while. I didn’t do much basketball stuff for probably the first two months of the summer, which is very rare for me, because my ankle wasn’t responding how I would like it to respond.”
So, coming into this season, are injuries on LeBron’s mind at all? Nope. He doesn’t want to think about what could happen or how things could go bad for him.
“I don’t play the game thinking about injuries. And I also feel worse when I play low minutes.”
While that sounds confusing, it makes perfect sense when you listen to head coach Frank Vogel clarify why LeBron might feel that way.
“Actually in some ways if he stays over there [on the bench] too long and he gets cold, it’s worse for him to get back in there [on the court]. Especially since he’s been playing this type of rotation for so long.”
Los Angeles will be hunting for a title once again as they brought in former MVP and All Star Russell Westbrook to add more firepower to their squad. The team is fully healthy now, and the only thing on their mind is winning a title.
