LeBron James entered this season facing perhaps the most difficult individual road to a championship of his career. While his Los Angeles Lakers are loaded with talent, their offseason lasted only 71 days. That is the shortest period between seasons any team has ever had in one of the four major American sports, and while the Miami Heat had enough youth to theoretically survive without as much rest, James, now 36 years old, was seemingly at a major disadvantage due to his age.
While that hadn’t manifested much early in the season, it finally seemed to hobble the Lakers during a surprising road loss to the Detroit Pistons. James made his first seven shots but went only 1-of-12 from the field after that as the Pistons ran away with the game in the second half. The game came on the second night of a back-to-back and Anthony Davis sat out due to injury. It was also the fifth game of a seven-game road trip. If LeBron was ever going to falter due to exhaustion, that seemed like an excusable moment for it to happen. But James denied that was the case, saying he simply doesn’t get tired.
“I don’t get tired. I don’t feel tired. I get my sleep; I get my rest,” James told reporters after the loss. “I have a lot of energy. I don’t get tired and my mindset never gets to the point where it’s like this is a long road trip or I’m exhausted or I’m tired.”
The evidence, on balance, supports LeBron’s notion. He hasn’t missed a game all year, and he has rarely missed games throughout his career. James led the Lakers to a victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday and is the current favorite to win MVP. He made the NBA Finals eight seasons in a row. LeBron’s feats of endurance are legendary, and it seems that at the age of 36, he’s still just as durable as ever.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
