LeBron James Credits Longtime Trainer for His Incredible Longevity

As the Lakers star finishes his 20th NBA season, he had one person to give the credit to.

As LeBron James nears the completion of his 20th NBA season, there are few signs of him slowing down anytime soon.

The Lakers star will turn 39 next season, but his play on the hardwood this year wouldn’t indicate that he’s one of the league’s oldest players.

James is averaging 28.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game on 49.9% shooting from the floor. He dealt with some nagging injuries, most notably a tendon issue with his foot, that only allowed him to play in 54 games this season.

This is the second straight year that James has dealt with injuries, which is perhaps the only sign of his body not being quite what it once was.

James gave a great deal of credit to his personal trainer when asked what has contributed to his stellar play for 20 consecutive seasons.

“There’s no way I’d be playing 20 seasons without him,” James said of his longtime athletic trainer Mike Mancias, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It’s literally that simple. 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 seven to 12 years of this. But 20? There’s no way without him.”

• Get your seats to Los Angeles Lakers games with SI Tickets

The Lakers are 42–39 on the season and in the No, 7 spot in the West with one game remaining. There’s a chance that the team could move up to the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the conference depending on what happens in the game against Utah on Sunday, and what happens to the playoff teams around them this weekend. 

Regardless, the Lakers will have another opportunity to chase a championship thanks in large part to the continued stellar play of James.