After incurring a groin strain on Saturday night, the NBA’s leading scorer was missing from action during his team’s Monday night loss against the Nets. LeBron James is also going to miss at least the next two games as he recently returned to Los Angeles to focus on rehabbing his injury. In the meantime, the Lakers will finish out their four-game road trip with back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets this week.
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As much as his team will appreciate his presence in the lineup, it’s hard not to be impressed by James’ level of availability in season 22. LeBron has appeared in 58 of his team’s 63 games this season and at 40 years of age, he somehow remains a lock for the All-NBA Team.
With 19 games remaining on the Lakers’ schedule, the King has to suit up just seven more times to be eligible for regular season award consideration. However, according to Shannon Sharpe, James’ longevity comes at a steep price.
As the only player to remain undefeated against Father Time after 22 seasons as a pro athlete, a lot has been said about the methods James uses to keep his body in top form. Some reports estimated that the King spends upwards of $1 million on his body every year. Sharpe believes it’s twice as much.
“When you got a guy on call 24 hours a day, oh, you eating up some time. He got medical people, he got a chef that’s full-time. He has all this. LeBron James is spending more than $2 million a year on that body,” Share revealed.
“Trust me. ‘Cause I know what I spent when I played, and I ain’t have nobody full-time,” the three-time Super Bowl winner argued on his podcast, ‘Nightcap.’
The four-time MVP’s fixation with his health has undoubtedly paid dividends. But he isn’t a fan of the speculation about how much he spends on his body every year.
LeBron James says he’s spending time on his body, not money
Of course, many millions of dollars have certainly gone into maintaining James’ health and physique. However, according to the 20-time All-Star, the financial investment would go to waste if he didn’t treat his body as a priority all the time.
“I’ve heard this crazy notion about how much money I spend on my body per year. And I kind of just chuckle. That is a number that I will not disclose,” the $1.2 billion man said on Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’ docuseries.
Despite all the rumors about LeBron’s ‘bio-hacking’ methods, the four-time MVP insists that his most valuable resource is the simplest one.
“Sleep is the best recovery you can have. It’s basically the equivalent to you putting your phone on the charger when you go to bed. Am I able to do it every single night? Of course not. But if you try to get the most sleep that you can get, it’s the only way you’re gonna get back to a 100%,” James explained.
Perhaps that is how the 40-year-old will spend the rest of this week; resting and preparing his body for the final push to the postseason.
