NBA
NBA star LeBron James attributes his athletic trainer Mike Mancias for his 20-year career as a professional
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All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated10 Apr 2023
38-year-olds aren’t usually competing at their best in the NBA, but LeBron James has always been one to break the molds and set new standards in the sport. After 20 years, the Lakers star has spent more than half of his life playing professional basketball and he knows who’s deserves most of this credit.
His longtime athletic coach Mike Mancias has been crucial in keeping up his best version throughout the years and maintain his body performing as well as his ambitious mind desires.
Lakers' LeBron James credits longtime trainer Mike Mancias for his longevity in the NBAhttps://t.co/6ojz9hqJlf
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) April 8, 2023
“There’s no way I’d be playing 20 seasons without him. It’s literally that simple,” James told ESPN last week. “There’s no way I’d be able to still be playing at this level without him.
“I mean, he’s that essential to my game, to my performance, to everything that I do. To my mental. So, there’s no way. I mean, I could have got 7-to-12 years of this. But 20? There’s no way without him.”
There’s no hiding that its been difficult for James to stay healthy throughout the season, limited to playing only 54 matches as he’s fallen into several injuries and a recurrent tendon issue with his right foot.
The athlete, who’s one of the oldest in the league, has averaged 28.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest, on 49.9% shooting from field goal attempts.
Last night, for example, the Los Angeles squad beat the Utah Jazz 127 to 118 with an impactful LeBron, leading his teammates in points with 36 after 33 minutes of play.
Take a look at his highlights as he also registered 6 assists and 6 rebounds in the last match of regular season:
The Lakers sign two new players on the last day of regular season
The Los Angeles squad made two new additions to their roster right as the first stage of the campaign was coming to an end this weekend, having signed both center Tristan Thompson and guard Shaq Harrison.
In order to go through with this action, the Lakers had no choice but to waive Davon Reed and create more space on the roster before they went on to face the Utah Jazz this past Sunday night. The California club had acquired him after a four-team deal at the latest deadline.
The big man is a former NBA champion, as he’s a veteran who’s played next to LeBron James during his nine campaigns for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thompson is yet to compete in the league this season, which would be his 12th in his career.
As for Harrison, he’s been hired after his recent 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers came to an end this weekend. He was only able to play five matches for Portland, but was still able to manage averages of 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists in this short time frame.
The player signs this new contract after having participated most of this tournament playing for the Lakers’ G League affiliate team, and now the Los Angeles squad has become his seventh NBA club in his career.
