The managing director of Team USA, Grant Hill, an Olympic gold medalist himself, went from playing for the country to selecting future players for the Olympics. Hill had the opportunity to meet LeBron James during Team USA’s first practice.
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And watching a 39-year-old Bron doing things 25-year-olds are supposed to, had him flabbergasted.
Speaking to Rachel Nichols about the first team practice, Hill shared his views on watching the Lakers star being able to do things at such an advanced age, that too with absolute ease.
“He came in at 39 and a half, in the best shape. I mean, he was flying around. First day of practice, we’re scripting a lot of the offense, we’re not going live. He might’ve dunked the ball 20 times in practice and just dunking hard, going hard.”
Grant Hill played until he was 40, but as he told us in Open Run, he didn’t have quiiiiiite the hops LeBron has at 39. Very cool story here from Grant about how locked LeBron has been on this Olympic team since Day 1. pic.twitter.com/aO7no7gtE4
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 9, 2024
Amazed by his athleticism, that too while touching 40 years of age, Hill had to let Bron know about his twilight years and what was left in his tank for the remainder of the season.
“So, the next day at breakfast, I went up to him and I said, ‘LeBron when I was 39 and a half and I played in the league, I knew I only had 20 good jumps for the whole season. And I didn’t waste them in practice. And you did 20 jumps, good jumps yesterday.’”
Telling Bron about how his body had limited him from just jumping off the floor left the four-time NBA champion in shambles, laughing. And the two shared a moment over breakfast.
Hill even talked about the level of consistency James has displayed over the years and during Team USA’s practices as well. James was always on time, the first one there, spending hours in the weight room and more.
Hill also commended his leadership in a room full of stars. Having witnessed his talents on the floor, he was able to see how he led a team first-hand.
And even at 39 years of age, about to turn 40, Bron is arguably the best player on the Team USA roster as he has come through for the team on multiple occasions during these Paris Olympics.
James reveals how he stays in shape
LBJ has been playing basketball for nearly 25 years. He’s spent half his life in the NBA. Despite this, he’s never had a serious injury, and almost at 40 years of age, is still among the fittest and best conditioned athletes in the world.
His secret? Constant work to take care of his body. Reports suggest James spends nearly a million dollars on his body every year, just to ensure he’s physically at his best, all the time.
“It’s every day, around the clock every single day. Working on my body either with treatment or working on my body in the weight room…Working on my game on the court, not put too much pounding on my legs when I’m on the court but being very efficient. I’ve kind of figured that out.”
James has been very particular about not pushing his body to the limits and working out in small periods of time, giving his muscles time to recover. It’s no wonder he has been able to perform at the level he has even 22 years into his NBA career.
