Probably, LeBron James made the most important achievement of his career this year. The Chosen One , or ” The Chosen One “, as he was nicknamed in high school, has in fact managed to bring the team of his region, the Cleveland Cavaliers , to the title , interrupting a fast that for the city of Ohio lasted, in all sport, for 52 years.
1. The measures
All the data of the King’s body
Let’s start with the numbers. Born on December 30, 1984, LeBron James has yet to turn 32. On October 29, 2003, at not even 19 years of age, he made his debut in the NBA, immediately starting to set the first of his many records. At the time he was still young and relatively thin, as well as obviously inexperienced.
It did not take him long, however, to understand how things worked in the league and to work on his body. So as to live up to that nickname – The Chosen One – which had been given to him since high school.
Today it measures 2.03 meters high for 108 kilos of weight. The circumference of his chest is 117 centimeters, while that of his biceps is 43 centimeters.
The waist is instead 91.5 centimeters. He wears a 48 of shoes, at least in the European measure; in the American one it is 15. A body, in short, spectacular, as can be seen every time he plays but even more on those occasions when, off the field, he takes off his shirt.
2. The workouts
The work of Mike Mancias, the personal trainer
But how did James get such a physicist? How did he put on that muscle mass while maintaining an agility that only those who weigh 20 kilos less than he can show on the parquet? It certainly took a lot of work, but also an excellent genetic predisposition.
It is an ad hoc workout . A training that the public obviously knows only up to a certain point. James has in fact for many years a personal trainer – with his salary of $ 24 million if he can definitely afford it – who prepares for him a very controlled diet and exercise regime.
This personal trainer is called Mike Mancias and is a few years older than LeBron. But a great experience behind it. Just think that in 2001 he helped Michael Jordan in the last phase of his career at the Washington Wizards.
Mancias has been following James since 2004: he accompanied him to the Olympics, followed him when he moved to Miami, returned with him to Cleveland in 2014.
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It is he who, with James, decides all the training strategies. Even when skipping a few regular season games , as happened recently, to recharge the batteries. And what kind of training do the two of them do?
The details are obviously not disclosed, but at the behest of the sponsors, an hour-long video was created that allows you to attend a typical session. You can find it at this link.
3. How it was in high school
Slim but with his own gang
LeBron James’ physique is all the more impressive especially when compared to what he exhibited at 16, when Ohio cameras first started following him. At that time the future King James played on his high school team, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, her hometown.
A physicist who, as can be seen below, was anything but powerful. James was already very tall and he could do very well with the ball (in his first year the team achieved a record of 27-0), but did not exhibit a particular muscle mass.
Indeed, it seemed almost frail. Even when he entered the NBA – even if some important progress had already been made – he seemed more of a fast player than a powerful one.
Speaking of high school , there is a little digression to do. James had already shown that he was an interesting player even before, when he was the age of our middle school boy.
At that time he toured Ohio and performed with three inseparable friends: Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III and Willie McGee. The four were so close that they promised that they would go to high school together.
The choice of which high school to attend was however unexpected. St. Vincent-St. In fact, Mary was not only a Catholic school – which was not a problem, since LeBron is also a problem – but above all a private school of a certain level. With pupils from globally wealthy families, certainly not from a mother who became pregnant at 16 (as it was for James’s mother).
It was, in fact, the high school of the good community of Irish and Italian Americans. It is no coincidence that the nickname of the sports team is The Fighting Irish. In short, no one expected that the young LeBron would bring “his talents” there.
Yet he did. And today, also thanks to his donations, the school gym is named after him.
4. Ray Allen’s diet?
The rumors about the “Paleo” cure
A few years ago, when he was still a Miami Heat player, a strange rumor spread on the web. LeBron had in fact posted on social networks some of his photos at the sea, shirtless, and someone had seen in those selfies the sign of excessive weight loss.
In fact, to see them today, those photos are not all that impressive. Of course, there is perhaps a little less conspicuous muscle mass, but it may well be that, given the holidays, James had taken a few weeks of rest.
The sports newspapers, however, at that time tried to hypothesize an explanation. And the person responsible for that apparent weight loss was indicated in teammate Ray Allen.
Yes, the former Boston Celtics champion and author of the decisive basket in race 6 during the 2013 Finals. According to the newspapers, LeBron would have tried a special diet prepared by his teammate.
A diet called “Paleo”, as an abbreviation of Paleolithic. A diet based on that of Atkins, which however adds a little taste. In practice, we eat meat, fish, crustaceans, chicken, eggs, vegetables, roots, fruits and berries, that is, everything – according to Allen – primitive men ate.
However, carbohydrates are definitely avoided, in addition to cereals, cheeses and derivatives, legumes, and especially sugar and salt.
But don’t try it at home. This high-protein diet, in fact, ends up depriving the body of indispensable substances such as calcium and vitamin D, and instead of giving too many proteins, which we certainly do not lack.
On the other hand, it has never been confirmed that LeBron really followed this diet. And even if he did, he would certainly do it for a very limited period of time. Indeed, as BuzzFeed found out some time ago, before the games LeBron eats chicken, vegetables, and rice. And rice, carbohydrates, has them.
5. The athletes he has been compared to
The confrontation with Michael Jordan and Karl Malone
But who does it look like, LeBron James? Over the years many have asked this question, but few have managed to give a clear answer. LeBron is, in fact, substantially inimitable. Whether you love it, or can’t stand it, you can’t help but admit that there has never been such a player in the history of the NBA.
A player, when in good shape, capable of shooting from 3 points with the percentages of a guard, but also of penetrating with the power of a large wing, and at the same time of crushing and taking rebounds as a center.
In short, he is the true universal player, who not by chance has repeatedly tried to win games alone, occupying all positions (and even that of the coach). There have never been players like this before, and maybe there won’t be.
The most frequent comparison that is made is that with Michael Jordan, another immortal, the strongest player of all time. But it is a comparison based simply on technical quality, not on physique.
Jordan is more or less as tall as LeBron (1.98 versus 2.03), but the weight in the golden years was definitely different. At the time of the first three-peat Jordan weighed 92 kilos, while today James weighs 108, a good 16 more. All of the muscles.
The player with the most similar physique, at least according to the numbers, was instead Karl Malone, the Utah Jazz star protagonist of many duels with Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
In fact, his data speak of 2.06 meters in height and 115 kilos in weight, as well as a great work ethic, extraordinary prolificity under the basket and record-breaking statistics. For his size, he was also an agile player, quick to restart and quick to pick-and-roll. But he essentially played under the basket.
The differences emerge, evident, in the statistics. LeBron has, in his career, an average of 34% from three points (while Malone has an average of 27%, with years in which he did not even attempt a shot from behind the perimeter). LeBron also has almost 7 assists per game, Malone 3.6.
That’s not to say that James is stronger than Malone. The latter was a legend and statistically still stands before James in many voices. But James is a different player, whose physique – albeit similar – allows him to do different things. Some of which Malone couldn’t do.
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