LeBron James, at age 40, is like a big brother to almost everyone in the league right now. Some might even call him an uncle at this point, and the age difference would justify it to some extent. But James is still playing like he’s in his prime days; it seems aging has little to no impact on him.
In a recent interview with the Deep 3 podcast, Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers’ former All-Star, spoke about his bond with LeBron James, how he’s like a big brother to him, and how competitive he is in practice.
“It’s good. I mean, working out LeBron, this is going to sound weird, but it’s like good. Like it’s normal now, you know what I’m saying? I remember I worked out with him my first time when I was like 19 years old, preparing for the draft.”
“So now, like seeing him just like a big brother, you know, just every single summer getting some work, trying to beat him to the gym or work out early with him, and it’s always fun.”
“Listen, quick story. After the workout, Chris Johnson always wants us to do like three dunks. So, I’m like, “All right, I get mine, I finish mine. I do my three dunks first.” And then I see Bron, and he’s like, “Throw it up. Throw it up.”
“I’m like, “No, you don’t got it no more.” I tried to throw him a lob like close to the rim so he could just put the ball in there. No, he still wants to cock it back and dunk. I’m like, man, he’s crazy!”
Tyrese Maxey became an All-Star for the first time in 2023-24, while LeBron James has been to the All-Star game 21 times in his career. James finished last season with an All-NBA Second Team selection as he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds. Meanwhile, Maxey finished the season averaging 26.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in the 52 games he played.
Going into his 23rd season, James is still playing at peak athleticism. While speculations persist on James’ future, his agent Rich Paul, has confirmed that he will not get traded this season and will see out his contract with the Lakers.
Will the league’s big brother finally retire after this season? While insiders claim that his 23rd season could be his last, he will likely want to go on a farewell tour by announcing to the world if this is his last season. Therefore, we anticipate that we could see James playing in the league even when his second son declares for the NBA Draft, if he intends to.
