LeBron James is getting older. Entering his 17th year, James does not show the sort of explosiveness and athleticism during his prime in South Beach. We know how the story goes. James got hurt, Lonzo’s ankle blew up due to defective footwear, and Ingram had a clotting issue. The Lakers missed the playoffs. There are questions present with health after his first major injury. New head coach Frank Vogel saw a silver lining. All the time that James missed could potentially be a good thing. Quote reported by Mike Trudell:
Frank Vogel on @KingJames coming into this season with the most rest he’s had since 2005: “That’s good news for us and bad news for the rest of the league.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 27, 2019
The last time that James did not make the playoffs was the 2004-2005 season. That season he played 3388 minutes which led the NBA and was the most he played in his career. This past season with the Lakers, James only played 1937 minutes in 55 games, both of those career lows.
This is absolutely bad for the rest of the league provided James can stay healthy. Having no playoff minutes can do wonders for a 34-year-old’s body. It seems as though the Lakers are going to be running the offense more through Anthony Davis, alleviating some of that stress on James. Another thing to note is how mindful James is of his body. He invests an exorbitant amount of money to take care of himself, from a biomechanist a recovery coach and trainers.
The rest will do wonders for James as he prepares for his 17th year in the league. Teamed up with a second star too? He’s primed to have an incredible season.
