LeBron James played his first set of back-to-back games for the Los Angeles Lakers and looked as if he wasn’t 41 years old.
James finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists on 12-of-20 shooting from the field. The Lakers bounced back from one of the worst losses of the season against the Sacramento Kings by dominating the Atlanta Hawks, 141-116.
The future Hall of Famer earlier in the season said his status in back-to-backs was “TBD” moving forward, so what went into his decision to lace ‘em up on Tuesday? James detailed his exact recovery process, and it was intense.
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LeBron’s back-to-back schedule
“You want to know exactly what I did today?” James asked The Athletic’s Dan Woike. “I woke up, got in the cold tub. After I got in the cold tub I got in the hyperbaric chamber. After the hyperbaric chamber I took a nap. Then I played PGA EA Golf for a little bit as I Normatec my legs for 45 minutes.
“Then I took a shower, got dressed, headed [to Crypto.com Arena]. Once I got here I did my normal routine; activation, treatment, rehabbing, stretching, lifting. Mentally doing everything while I watched TPG on the TV. The me and Mike [Mancias] looked at each other… I said, ‘I think I feel pretty good.’ And there was a pregame meal in between there at some point.”
James is averaging 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 21 games this season. Since turning 41 on Dec. 30, he’s posting 26.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists.
No one has ever had sustained success like James is having at his age.
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