A couple of days back, LeBron James returned from an injury that should have kept him on the sidelines for at least a month.
It kind of did... but it's only because he played for the LA Lakers squad that still had Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley.
I always pegged LBJ as the NBA's version of John Cena. There were times Cena would recover from I think, an ACL injury (I don't know), in four months.
I guess there is a reason why LeBron James is still playing high-level basketball despite his age. Yes, he has slowed down and there are times when he's out a day or so due to load management... but it's not as bad as most of his contemporaries. In some ways, he and Carmelo Anthony had the same body archetype. I know it's hard to compare LBJ and Melo now but back when they were just starting, the AAUs weren't as insane as it is now.
Yes, Luka Doncic and Ricky Rubio played pro basketball during their teens but they also had their summers off unlike what most American athletes are dealing with at the moment. It's hard to sustain an NBA basketball career if your body is invested at an early age.
The ballers of today are more multi-dimensional. Centers are leading fast breaks and guards are having double-doubles and with the rebounding stat as the catalyst. When LBJ entered the NBA (and in some ways, Melo), he was pegged as a Magic Johnson-type of player. 20 seasons later, he was still able to sustain his gameplay despite the rest of the league changing. The rest of the league though has more athleticism than durability - and it shows since there are players with questionable careers after they reach 30. And then, there's the attitude - as for some reason, they would rather rely on supergroups for championships or playoff runs, or stat pad for the sake of having a cool Wikipedia or Basketball Reference page.
Or money.
Maybe it's about the money.
Imagine if Anthony Davis has the career of LBJ. James is a young 38-year-old compared to Unibrow an "old" 30-year-old. And the unfortunate fact about this is that only Bradley Beal, Spencer Dinwiddie, Steven Adams, and in some ways, Andre Drummond are the only 30-year-olds with respectable careers in the NBA at the moment.
Anyway, I guess LeBron James will do the things he CAN do.
Unless his body gives up on him.
That's probably until his Wolverine-like healing powers fail him.