The most renowned basketball player of (several) generations, LeBron James, has turned 40 today, December 30. He has devoted more than half of his life to NBA, when he was picked as the first choice for the 2003 NBA draft by his hometown team, Cleveland Cavaliers.
Among the multitude of landmarks he has achieved, including four NBA championship, 20 All-Star selections, three Olympic Gold Medals, the all-time leading scorer, the player with more minutes played, or the player with more seasons played in NBA history (tied at 22 with Vince Carter), and being the first NBA player to play alongside his son Bronny, he has now became the only player in NBA history to play ins his teens, 20s, 30s and 40s.
He is the oldest active NBA player. It is not completely out of the norm to play at 40: there have been 32 players before him to play in his 40s. However, only nine lasted more than 51 games after turning 40, and usually with much worse stats. James is poised to surpass them all, as his numbers are still "All-Star level", as Associated Press puts it with an average of 23.5 points, 9 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game, above Michael Jordan, who averaged 22.4 points when he turned 40.
"I think in the case of LeBron, there's a mental aspect of it as well", thinks NBA commissioner Adam Silver. "I think all of us know that, in addition to keeping in tip-top shape physically, he works a lot on his mind. And that ability to stay motivated, to maintain a level of concentration, maintain a level of motivation ... he's amazing to watch".
Finding a mental balance is perhaps the reason why he chose to move away from social media last month.
James also has a contract covering the next season, but had recently said that he "won't be playing till the wheels fall off" because he doesn't want to disrespect the game. He was critiziced during a recent Los Angeles Lakers slump