LeBron James knows the challenge of Year 23 is keeping his body ready. Speaking to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers star said his focus is on getting as close to 100 percent as possible while staying locked in with his team, even when he’s not on the floor.
“That’s always a challenge; how can I get my body close to 100 percent where I can come out and perform at a high level,” LeBron said. “There’s a lot of miles on my game, and I’ve trained throughout the course of the offseason. But my presence is going to be important as well, making sure that even when I’m not on the floor, I’m always in tune with what we’re doing so I know what’s going on at all times.”
James, 40, has been through this routine before. In fact, during these final stages of his career, James is playing it far too safe to risk overdoing his ramp-up to the season. According to McMenamin, we shouldn’t expect to see LeBron much at all before opening night.
“I’m told that LeBron’s camp has spoken to the Lakers and they said ‘let’s be overly cautious’ with LeBron because we want to be looking to the long view here if this team’s going to be contending for a championship, we need LeBron in his best shape from April to June,” said McMenamin.
The pre-season is around the corner and LeBron played a few games last season with Anthony Davis, many months before Luka arrived. It served as a solid warm-up, but only backfired later when LeBron allegedly got worn out by December. It might explain why his stats took a dip last season, going from 25.7 points per game in 2023-24 to 24.4 points per game in 2024-25.
Either way, with LeBron going on 41 years old, his camp is making sure that the team takes extra measures to preserve what’s left of his basketball lifespan. They don’t see a need to tire him out right now when the Lakers might need him in the spring to make a deep playoff run.
It’s an unprecedented strategy for James, but it’s another example of how much times have changed. While they still have LeBron James, Luka Doncic now leads the way for them and his success has become their priority. Now that they’ve secured a long-term deal with Doncic, they are operating with full confidence knowing he’ll be the face of the franchise.
This new dynamic has put LeBron in an awkward position, but he’s not showing any signs of cracking. While retirement was briefly on his mind, James has been working all summer to return and finish out the final year of his Lakers contract. He’s going to see this through now, and the question is how it will end.
If the Lakers try to rush the process or ignore LeBron’s delicate process of rest and recovery, they could find out the hard way what it means to lose his trust. Then again, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, LeBron has an opportunity to win another title and he knows better than to pass that up.
LeBron’s twilight years aren’t about chasing regular-season numbers anymore, they’re about timing his body to peak when it matters most. If the Lakers manage his workload correctly, he could still be the difference between another banner and an early exit. For James, the mission hasn’t changed: stay ready, stay relevant, and find one more chance at glory.
