Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is one of the most durable players the league has ever seen. After all, you don't threaten to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list without possessing the best ability an NBA star could ever have: availability. However, over the past two seasons, LeBron missed a combined 53 games as he battled ankle, abdominal, and knee injuries, showing that the man with perhaps the longest prime in NBA history isn't impervious to the effects of Father Time.
In fact, LeBron rarely ever avoids popping up on the injury report these days, and he appeared yet again as he battles with soreness on his foot. He ended up playing 40 minutes during their clutch 120-117 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, but The King wasn't quite as efficient as he'd like, dropping 20 points on 9-23 shooting, missing all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc. There might be a reason for that however, as LeBron, over the past few days, has felt under the weather.
“Today was the first day I got out of bed since Sunday night. It hurt me to my soul to miss out on the Halloween party with all my guys on Monday,” James told reporters after the Pelicans game. ESPN's Dave McMenamin also reported that LeBron planned to go straight to bed immediately after their Wednesday night game.
LeBron James reassured Lakers fans nonetheless, saying that they need not worry about his repeated appearances on the injury report even as he approaches his 38th birthday on December. He mentioned NFL legend Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as someone who, despite being 45 years old and being a frequent inhabitant of the injury report, always suits up on the field.
“Tom Brady's been on the injury report for like 20 straight years. Somehow he just plays,” James added.
“Today was the first day I got out of bed since Sunday night. It hurt me to my soul to miss out on the Halloween party with all my guys on Monday…Tom Brady's been on the injury report for like 20 straight years. Somehow he just plays.”
🗣️ LeBron James
(via @michaelcorvoNBA) pic.twitter.com/nM47ER2c5o
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 3, 2022
For reference, since emerging as the New England Patriots' starting quarterback in the 2001-02 season, Brady has only missed 20 games, 15 of which came during the 2008-09 season when he tore his ACL.
With how well LeBron James takes care of his body, it's not difficult to envision the 18-time All-Star playing until his mid-40s much like Brady, especially after his earlier declarations that he'd very much love to play alongside his sons Bronny, and perhaps even Bryce, someday.
And LeBron remains ever so motivated to suit up nightly, too, what with him being 1,610 points shy of the all-time record. He'd only need to average around 21.5 points per game for the remaining 75 games, which he should achieve with room to spare as a career 27.1 point per game scorer.
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