Unprecedented resilience

Dan Diamond writes at Forbes,

Over the past five seasons, LeBron’s played a total of 18,087 minutes, counting the regular season and the playoffs.

What that means: Compared to every other player, LeBron’s played at least 15% more minutes than anyone else in the league. He’s played nearly 2,500 more minutes than Kevin Durant, the runner-up.

Basically, pick any other NBA player. Since 2010, LeBron has played the equivalent of at least one extra season compared to that player — and likely, a lot more.

And over the past ten seasons, the minutes gap widens — LeBron has a 20% edge on Joe Johnson (who’s played the second-most minutes) and a 30% edge on Tim Duncan (who’s played the tenth-most). Duncan’s played 8,509 fewer minutes than LeBron since 2005 — basically four seasons fewer worth of games.

...LeBron’s resilience is one reason why his teams benefit so much from his greatness; his ability to avoid injuries means that he can stay on the floor, making his mark on the game.

And while it’s not clear how he does it (Is it his strength? His genes? His recovery method?), we tend to take LeBron’s presence for granted.

But I’d argue LeBron’s unprecedented resilience is its own greatness. The NBA has never seen anything like it.

And as fans, we haven’t either.

Read more here.