After someone has been in the same profession for many years and has accomplished almost as much as there is to accomplish there, he or she may have a hard time keeping up the motivation to work hard every day.
It is human nature to suffer some sort of complacency or letdown at that point, especially when one also has all the money one needs for an entire lifetime.
But even after 21 NBA seasons, four NBA championships and more points than anyone else in league history, LeBron James has maintained an impressive work ethic. He has done an admirable job of keeping his body right, and that has allowed him to continue to play at a high level even at age 39.
He is currently training with Team USA as it prepares for the Summer Olympics. Team USA is looking to bring back the gold medal to the United States after a poor showing in last year’s FIBA World Cup in which it didn’t even earn a bronze medal.
After the squad’s first practice, head coach Steve Kerr, who has seen his Golden State Warriors teams go up against James six times in postseason play, was impressed with how hard James continues to practice after all these years.
Via NBC Sports Bay Area:
“I was blown away by how hard he practices,” Kerr said Saturday after Team USA’s first training camp practice at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). “And I went to [assistant coach Ty Lue] and [assistant coach Erik Spoelstra] and I said, ‘Is this normal?’ They said, ‘Every day, every day.’ To Spo I said, ‘What about way back when you got him?’ Spo said, ‘Every day. Every drill, every walkthrough.’”
Lue and Spoelstra are obviously very familiar with James. Spoelstra coached the superstar for four seasons with the Miami Heat, while Lue guided him to an NBA championship in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James is teaming up with fellow Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis, as well as other studs such as Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards and the Warriors’ Stephen Curry on Team USA. Together, everyone on the roster is hoping to prove that the United States is still tops in the sport of basketball.
