LeBron James averaged a career-low 35.6 minutes per game this season, and the decreased workload has him feeling as fresh as ever.
As the Cleveland Cavaliers get set to pursue their first NBA championship in franchise history, LeBron says he is not feeling his age. While some wonder if the 31-year-old only has a few seasons left of dominant play, King James sees it much differently.
“I take pride in the fact that I put a lot of work into my game and to my body and obviously I know how many minutes I have on my body in my career and how many games I’ve played,” LeBron told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “And for me to feel like I’m in my 20s again, early 20s, it’s a great feeling.”
LeBron led the league in fast-break dunks this season with 59. He slammed the ball home 111 times in 76 games and was one of the top-10 dunkers in the league. Points are points, but those stats are indicative of the spring James still has in his step.
“My body just feels great, that’s all,” he said. “I’m happy and proud of the work that I put in and that’s just the byproduct of it. To be able to still be bouncing the way I’m bouncing and jumping the way I’m jumping — with all the minutes and all the games I’ve played over the years — I mean, it’s rewarding to know when you put in work and be able to get success.”
Roughly a year ago, LeBron went Air Jordan with this massive dunk during a playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks. With the way he’s talking, we’d be surprised to not see more of that in the postseason this year.
