Dalton Knecht knew LeBron James loved Madden before they became teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers but he has been surprised by just how much he enjoys it. At a Lakers practice session, Knecht was asked what he’d learned about James and it turns out he lives and breathes Madden.
“How much he loves to play Madden,” Knecht said. “He always talks about him playing Madden but I didn’t really know it was that much. He watches it on the plane and stuff. He watches film just like it’s basketball. It’s crazy.”
We perhaps shouldn’t be all that surprised by this. Just under two years ago, Savannah James shared a hilarious video of LeBron welcoming the new year by playing Madden. He might do it again this time around too.
James also once admitted that he was addicted to Madden 23. The 39-year-old loves the video game series and has gotten pretty good at the game by now. He seems to make light work of most he goes up against and in October, James revealed he had earned a spot among the top 100 players in Madden 25. It’s unlikely to happen, but perhaps he could look into e-sports once he’s done playing basketball.
The end of James’ basketball career isn’t too far away but he is still producing at a high level in his 22nd season. The 20-time All-Star is averaging 23.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25. He had a rough offensive stretch in November but has now found his groove.
While James may not quite be the dominant force he once was, it is quite remarkable how well he is playing at this stage of his career. During this interview, Knecht was asked about working with the future Hall of Famer and if he understood why he’s able to do what he does.
“When I first got here, I asked if I could join one of his workouts and watch his day-to-day routine,” Knecht said. “He makes sure he really recovers his body, especially after a workout. Even before workouts he’s always in the cold tub or icing something before he goes out and gets warmed up. Just watching how he recovers is my biggest thing how he keeps his longevity.”
Knecht added that he aspires to play as long as James has. While that’s a good goal to have, it is unlikely that the 23-year-old is going to play for that long.
Knecht, the 17th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, is also trying to rediscover his groove. At one stage, it looked like he was going to win Rookie of the Year, but he has really struggled in December, with just two 10-point games in the month.
The second one did come in the Lakers’ 115-113 win over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas, as Knecht recorded 13 points (5-9 FG), seven rebounds, two assists, and a block. He would be hoping it’s a sign of things to come.
Knecht and the 17-13 Lakers will be in action next against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 10:30 PM ET. The Kings just parted ways with Mike Brown and it’ll be interesting to see how the players react on the court to his dismissal.
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