Lakers' LeBron James Training 'Like He's a Rookie' Ahead of 21st Season, Pelinka Says

It appears that LeBron James is dialing it back to 2003 when it comes to his offseason training.

The 19-time All-Star is gearing up for his 21st season in the league, yet Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said that the team's star veteran is treating his workouts like he is a rookie trying to break into the league.

"It's staggering for a player who has 20 years under the hood already and is preparing for 21 like he's a rookie," Pelinka said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "He's been doing 6 a.m. workouts. Probably been in our building as much as any player this offseason. Been in the weight room as much as any player. Any team LeBron's played for, it's been pretty uniform that his work sets the tone."

Pelinka continued by saying that the team is building youthful depth around him to make sure he does not suffer too much wear and tear through the season.

"We have to partner with [James] to help him get all the way to the end [of the season healthy], because that's his goal," Pelinka said, per McMenamin. "And so I think adding the depth we have, the versatility, the shooting, all those things are going to help us manage that."

James continues to be a dominant force in the NBA despite the fact that he is entering his 21st season. He averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games in 2022-23 and helped lead the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals.

Still, he has not played a full, 82-game season since 2017-18 and that was the only time he did that in his career. With new CBA rules that require a player to participate in at least 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, James' participation should be up which will put more stress on his body.

With that in mind, dialing it back to his younger days to prepare for the grueling season may be pretty smart.