LeBron James will turn 39 a few months into his 21st NBA season. Not only does that make him just the seventh player to reach his 21st season, it also makes him the oldest active player in the league. LeBron being LeBron, he had the perfect reaction when told the news this week. After being asked for his reaction to being the oldest player in the league at a Lakers practice, LeBron briefly screamed before sprinting down the court and smoothly dunking.
Furthermore, James isn't treating this like his final year. He will most likely join Vince Carter as the only players to play 22 seasons thanks to his desire to play at least one season with his son Bronny. With Bronny eligible for the 2024 draft, LeBron will likely hit that historic milestone. However, the question will be if it happens with the Lakers or elsewhere in the NBA.
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LeBron Training "Like A Rookie"
Additionally, you'd think that 20 seasons of basketball may take the edge off a person. Not LeBron though. "It's staggering for a player who has 20 years under the hood already and is preparing for 21 like he's a rookie. He's been doing 6 a.m. workouts. Probably been in our building as much as any player this offseason. Been in the weight room as much as any player. Any team LeBron's played for, it's been pretty uniform that his work sets the tone. There has been nothing but an increase in seeing that here. To me, it's let's be about it, let's not talk about it. He's definitely been about it this offseason," Lakers GM Rob Pelinka told reporters in September.
Despite this, the Lakers will be looking for ways to lighten LeBron's load this season. He turns 39 in December and has missed 111 games over the past five seasons. However, load management has been a harder task thanks to new rules about resting star players that come into effect this season. Head coach Darvin Ham said that LeBron's load management is a "big picture" issue and will be adjusted "month to month" based on "different sections of the calendar".
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