LeBron James has shared extensive details about the laborious wellness regime he undergoes whenever he's set to play back-to-back games.
After playing in his first consecutive games of the season, Bron sat down with ESPN NBA reporter Dave McMenamin to discuss how he prepared for the game against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday (January 13).
"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," the 41-year-old recalled. "Then I played [EA Sports PGA Tour] for a little bit, as I Normatec my legs for 45 minutes. Then I took a shower, got dressed, and headed here."
When he arrived at the Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers star went through his normal game day routine, even though his availability that night still seemed uncertain.
"And once I got here, I did my normal game day routine: activation, treatment, rehabbing, stretching, lifting, mentally doing everything while I watched, you know, TPG on the TV," James said.
LeBron's trainer Mike Mancias checked in with him afterwards to see how he felt, to which he responded: "I think I feel pretty good."
James ended up having more than a pretty good game with 31 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds in the Lakers' 141-116 win over the Hawks.
LeBron's willingness to play in back-to-back games comes after telling reporters last week that "every back-to-back for the rest of the season is TBD. I am 41. I got the most minutes in NBA history."
His mindset aligns with Lakers head coach J.J. Redick, who admitted in late November that every back-to-back would be considered "case-by-case."
"We're going to build him up, hopefully, to be able to play in back-to-backs," Redick said, according to ESPN. "That's the goal. ... Every back-to-back is a case-by-case, that's just the reality of the NBA right now. But we want him to be able to play in back-to-backs, so does he. So we're going to work towards that."
