At the age of 37, Lebron James is still one of the Five of the best players in the world.
This season alone, he has come up with some incredible personal figures that players much younger than him would like to have.
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James is one of the rare athletes who can stay on Father Time for that long. Given that he just turned 37 (!), at 19 (!!) in the league, James is still putting up numbers worthy of MVP consideration. Most recently, he became the oldest player in NBA history to score 30 triple-doubles after dropping 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on the Orlando Magic.
James, who missed 10 of the Lakers’ first 16 games because of ankle and abdominal injuries, improved his play as the season went on. In James’ first eight games, he averaged 22.8 points on 49% shooting with 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
Now, in his last six games, James is averaging 34.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 saves on 57 shots. .0% from the field, 40.4% from outside the arc and 81.8% from the free throw.
James has scored 36 or more points in three of those six games, and most recently in Memphis on Wednesday night, he took down eight 3-pointers, marking a career high.
This shouldn’t be too surprising.
First, James is only genetically gifted, that’s easy to see, but he’s also invested in himself. He reported spending $1.5 million per year to take care of your body. That money covers expenses from home gyms, trainers, masseuses, chefs, equipment, and more.
He played the full 82-game schedule for the first time in his career aged 33 in the 2017-18 season with the Cavs.
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It is his dedication to his profession that has seen him generate some of the crazier numbers in his career after the age of 30.
LeBron James is 37 years old today.
If we only looked at his career after he turned 30, he would still be a first-voting HOF.
– 26/8/8 out of 52%
– 30/10/8 with 51% in playoffs
– Ranked 4th in total score
– Ranked 4th in terms of total assists
– Leading the NBA in support
– 2x Champ
– 2x Finals MVP
– 7x All-Stars
– 7x All-NBA pic.twitter.com/jwKL4upw1d– StatMuse (@statmuse) December 30, 2021
James has won half of his total championships since turning 30, along with two MVPs in the Finals. He’s an All-Star every year, he’s an All-NBA every year, he leads the league in assists in that timeframe while averaging a superb 26 points (52% shot) , 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
For comparison, by the time he turned 30, James had 23,901 career points – the most of an NBA player before his 30th birthday. James won all of his regular-season MVP awards before the age of 30, more than any other contemporaries on the GOAT roster at that age. He’s a 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, six-time All-Defense Team member, two-time NBA champion, and two-time MVP in the finals.
By the year he turned 30, James was averaging 25.4 points per game, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
“How do I keep playing? I’ve been doing it for 19 years,” James has said of his play this season. “Just do what I’m doing. I feel like I’m getting better every day. I’m getting healthier. I think you think negative thoughts or negative energy, it just creeps in and out of my mind. you. So I’m still as young as I used to be.”
The stats and accolades seem to back that up, putting two separate Hall of Fame careers on both sides of the 30-year mark.
