Let’s take a closer look at how the Lakers’ two superstars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, will prepare for the season following their gold medal run at the 2024 Olympics.
Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis were key pieces for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics, eventually winning gold over hosts France after a grueling semifinal comeback vs. Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
With the gold medal run now completed and Lakers training camp less than two months away, the question becomes how will LeBron and AD prepare for the regular season? I took a closer look at that question and the key variables in the following video.
It’s a very fine balance whenever the typical offseason is interrupted, whether that’s due to international basketball like the Olympics or the FIBA World Cup, like with Austin Reaves last summer, who did have some knock-on effects but got through them.
That interruption can be more difficult for players who are earlier in their careers and haven’t experienced those new variables before. That isn’t the case here for AD and especially for LeBron, who has seen it all and understands how to navigate it.
Davis being around James will also help him and his team understand how to navigate it. In fact, I strongly believe LeBron’s influence is one of the reasons we have seen Davis have healthier seasons by really understanding what it takes off the court and with habits to be healthy.
Of course, only time will tell, but Davis and James are more than capable of handling the transition to the regular season with the methodical planning and commitment required to do it effectively.
Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own in-person and online sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA and partners with Quantum Performance in which he further combines his movement expertise and fitness training background to rehab & train elite athletes.
He also works at a hospital — giving him experience with patients in the immediate healthcare setting and neurological patients (post stroke, post brain injury) — and has been practicing for over 5 years. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), has a background in youth basketball coaching and analyzes the Lakers from a medical and s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and on his own YouTube Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @3cbPerformance.