LeBron James and Anthony Davis had a standout summer, playing pivotal roles in Team USA’s gold medal win. As the 2024-25 NBA season approaches, many are wondering if their Olympic participation might affect their performance with the Lakers.
LeBron, who will turn 40 in December, showed no signs of slowing down in Paris, playing 147 minutes over six games. Davis, meanwhile, logged 99 minutes for Team USA. Both players have dealt with frequent injuries in recent seasons — a stark contrast to LeBron’s remarkable durability over his first 15 years in the league.
Despite concerns, new Lakers head coach JJ Redick appears unfazed by the additional mileage his star players accumulated this summer.
“I mean, look, those guys are professionals in every sense of the word,” Redick said on the Lakeshow Podcast. “My concern for them about whether or not they’ll be ready to play on Oct. 22 and be in shape? I don’t have that concern. We’re gonna work with [athletic trainer] Mike [Mancias] and Ish [associate athletic trainer Jon Ishop], making sure that they feel they’re in a great place to start the regular season. They’ll certainly be involved in training camp and the preseason, even here in September, as well as preseason games.”
While James typically doesn’t play heavy minutes in preseason games, this year could be different. With Redick at the helm, the team will need time to adjust to his coaching style, making the preseason an ideal opportunity for fine-tuning.
Outside of LeBron and AD, the Lakers have faced significant challenges this off-season. Jarred Vanderbilt remains sidelined and is likely to miss the start of the season after opting against surgery last year. Meanwhile, Christian Wood underwent knee surgery today and is expected to be out for the first two months of the season. Additionally, Gabe Vincent has only played 11 games since being traded from Miami in 2023.
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