Lakers News: LeBron James Questions High-Level Youth Basketball
Is 37-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James annoyed with the current state of youth hoops? James of course is himself a product of the AAU travel circuit but not a 12-month basketball player until his junior year of high school.
James, who graduated high school in 2003 before being picked with the top selection in that year's draft, may have been in one of the last few graduating student classes to be allowed to participate in other sports out of seaon.
During a recent postgame interview, James was asked by Marc Stein (formerly of ESPN and The New York Times) about his thoughts on the current state of elite youth basketball, in which both his sons, LeBron "Bronny" James Jr. and Bryce James, are partaking.
"I think it's too much. I think it's too many tournaments. I think it's too much basketball, too many basketball tournaments being played throughout the full year and it's not allowing these kids to recover," James said.
"Then they go off to college or go play wherever they go to play and if they're fortunate enough to get to the NBA, there's a lot of miles being put in their bodies. I've noticed it over the last few years and having kids of my own, I've allowed them to not play in certain tournaments."
"You have a lot of guys that come into our league and you wonder why some of the injuries are happening so early on in their careers," James noted. "Could [the amount of games played] be part of it? Possibly, but I’m not sure.”
If anyone knows how to take care of their bodies, it's James, who famously spends an estimated $1.5 million annually to preserve his 37-year-body. The travel basketball, beyond being so physically demanding for growing young players, limits students' abilities to develop beyond the game.
