Getty LeBron James won't play for Team USA at the Olympics this year.
It is a bit odd not to see LeBron James competing in the NBA Finals, but the Los Angeles Lakers superstar does not appear to be taking the offseason lightly. Trainer JR Bremer posted an Instagram photo with a shirtless James who looks to be in great shape, which is already great news for the Lakers heading into next season.
“@kingjames pulled up on us today at @corus45. I still have not finished a workout without stopping and this is year 4 🙈,” Bremer noted on Instagram. “I don’t think anyone can 🤷🏽♂️ #itsdifferent #lookscanbedeceiving #teammates #brotherhood.”
James appeared to already be in mid-season form.
Pelinka on the Health of James & Davis: ‘We Have to Provide All the Resources With Them to Keep Them Healthy’
The Lakers star is also taking some time for a few indulgences: James revealed on Instagram that he was eating a steak for the first time in two years. James was in and out of the lineup towards the second half of the regular season after suffering an ankle injury against the Hawks in March.
The NBA legend is not playing in the Olympics, giving James every opportunity for this offseason to be focused on rest and recovery. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka emphasized that the team’s top priority this summer is to help James along with Anthony Davis get fully healthy for the 2021-22 season.
“Whatever we can bring to the table as an organization to help those guys return to 100%, that’s gonna be a ton of our energy over the coming weeks,” Pelinka explained, per Lakers Nation. “We know that those guys are both two of the top two-way players in the world and will continue to be and we have to provide all the resources with them to keep them healthy and help them operate at the highest level and that will be a big focus for us as well.”
LeBron Spends $1.5 Million Annually on His Health & Fitness, an Insider Said
Citing a conversation with James’ business partner Maverick Carter in 2016, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons revealed that the All-Star spends $1.5 million annually on making sure his body is right. This number could be even higher now that James is entering the backend of his career.
“I asked him, ‘What’s the biggest misconception about LeBron? What’s the one thing people don’t realize about LeBron?’” Simmons explained during a June 2016 podcast. “And he [Carter] said, ‘People don’t realize how hard he works on his body.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ [Carter:]’LeBron spends like a million and a half dollars a year on his body.’
Simmons went on to detail Carter’s explanation of the different ways James tries to ensure he is in top shape. James has a phenomenal track record of staying on the court playing in 74 or more games in 13 of the last 18 seasons. The Lakers superstar also has 10 NBA Finals appearances along with playing in three Olympics, meaning he has competed in more basketball games over the last two decades than most players.
“And he’s like, ‘Well, he’s replicated the gym that whatever team — whether it was Miami or Cleveland — he’s replicated all the equipment they have in the team’s gym in his house,” Simmons continued quoting Carter. “‘He has two trainers. Everywhere he goes, he has a trainer with him.’ I’m paraphrasing what he told me, so I might not be getting all these facts right. He’s got chefs. He has all the science of how to sleep. All these different things. Masseuses. Everything he does in his life is constructed to have him play basketball and to stay on the court and to be as healthy as possible and to absorb punishment when he goes into the basket and he gets crushed by people.'”
LeBron on Routine: ‘Around the Clock Every Single Day’
James appears to already be in great shape given there are still more than three months until the NBA regular season tips off. During a 2018 interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, James described his routine as, “around the clock every single day.”
“It’s every day. Around the clock every single day, working on my body,” James said. “Either with treatment or working on my body in the weight room. Continuing just to build strength throughout the season when everybody else is kind of tearing down … not putting too much pounding on my legs when I’m on the court, but being very efficient. I’ve kind of figured that out in my 15th season.”