“Stunning” LeBron James is still as good as his 40th birthday approaches

What LeBron James is doing at this stage of his career is nothing short of phenomenal. Even in his 22nd NBA season, he remains one of the league’s best players and is still capable of taking over games at any time, as he did on Christmas Day with his 31-point, 10-assist performance in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win Evidence showed about the Golden State Warriors.

As LeBron’s 40th birthday approaches, many have taken the time to truly appreciate how good he has been for so long. Lakers coach JJ Redick has seen it from the start and even he can’t believe how good James still is.

“I played against LeBron in high school, so I knew he would be great in the NBA,” Redick said after a recent practice. “I don’t think you could ever predict, no matter how much the prognosticators put people at 16, 17, 18 years old, whether they’re going to be the all-time greats or not, which he was. And to be clear, things haven’t been fast for me over the last 21 years.

“It’s just mind-blowing to be in this position, to coach him, to play against him for 15 years, to take three years to decide his games and then he’s still playing at this level. It feels like he’s been doing this for ages, and this isn’t a small blip in human history, but for ages. And that’s a testament to his competitiveness and his love for the game.”

Even the absolute best players become more of role players at this age, but LeBron still puts up All-Star numbers. As Redick said, when he played against him in high school, he knew James would be great, but there’s no way to predict he could still be as good after 22 seasons.

The Lakers are definitely grateful for everything James continues to do even as he approaches his 40th year, and he also makes things much easier for Redick as a coach.

Lakers coach JJ Redick has noticed an increase in LeBron James’ energy since his break

Even with how good LeBron James was, JJ Redick and the Lakers wisely tried to give him some rest throughout the season. As LeBron struggled with a left foot issue, he was recently forced to sit out two games, giving him ten days off. And since his return he looks like a different player.

Redick noted that he has noticed an increase in LeBron’s energy since returning from this break, adding that the staff is also trying to allow the star more short stints on the court rather than longer stints, which allows him to be more effective to be.

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