LeBron James just wrapped up his 22nd season in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, and the end result of their campaign was not what anyone was looking for. After going on a run to earn the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers crashed and burned in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, as they lost their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, sending them into a wildly important offseason.
After turning 40 years old midway through the 2024-25 season, questions about James’ future continue to swirl around him. Despite that, James hasn’t skipped a beat, even as he’s gotten older, which is a testament to the hard work he puts in to keep his body in tip-top shape. However, the legendary small forward recently shared a shocking admission about his training regimen that caught fans off guard.
LeBron James Drops Shocking Training Admission
James broke into the NBA as the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft as one of the most hyped prospects in the history of the league. He immediately established himself as one of the premier players in the league, and he hasn’t looked back since then. James has racked up an absurd number of awards and accomplishments, highlighted by his four MVP Awards and four Finals victories.
At this point, James is in virtually uncharted territory for an NBA player. Even though he’s 40 years old, James remains one of the best players in the game. This past season, he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3% from the floor. Those numbers don’t seem like they belong to someone who could conceivably retire this offseason.
A big reason James is able to keep playing at this high of level is because of the work he puts in behind the scenes to keep his basketball skills at as high of a level as possible, while also keeping his body in good shape. And yet, James recently revealed that he didn’t actually start working with a basketball trainer until he had made it to the NBA, and that he had simply played the game to help him develop his skills as an up-and-coming prospect.
“I didn’t have a basketball trainer until second, third, maybe fourth year in the NBA,” James revealed on “Mind the Game.” “My basketball training was just being on the court. Let’s just go hoop. Five-on-five, or two-on-two, or three-on-three … It definitely helped me out a lot.”
Kids don’t need basketball trainers, they need to get outside and play.
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LeBron James’ Path to NBA Bucks Recent Development Path for Young Athletes
GettyLos Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
With more attention being paid to professional sports than ever before, the development of young athletes has shifted to the forefront of the industry. Kids are beginning to work with trainers and do the behind the scenes work James has mastered over the course of his career at an increasingly young age in an effort to help maximize their chances of going pro. James, however, revealed that path isn’t necessarily guaranteed to be the best path.
Rather than focusing on going pro, James just played the game he loved and gradually turned himself into one of the best basketball players of all time. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that, and at the end of the day, James believes that the best way to improve at your sport of choice is to simply go out and play it.
