LeBron James may be in his 22nd NBA season, but when it comes to bedtime routines at home, he’s just another husband trying not to annoy his wife.
The Los Angeles Lakers star is known for his discipline and world-class investment in his health, reportedly spending over $1.5 million a year on everything from cryotherapy to hyperbaric chambers.
But according to him, it’s sleep-and the struggle to get enough of it-that’s both his most underrated weapon and his biggest source of marital ribbing.
In a new episode of his Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash, LeBron gave a glimpse into his post-game reality, sharing that the first signs of aging show up the morning after.
“It’s usually the morning after the game. It’s that first step out of bed. We’ll let you know how old your a- is,” James joked. “I’m like, what the hell? And this is usually on the road. You know, you’re like, what the hell are you still doing out here?”
For a man known for his late-game heroics, what happens after tip-off is just as vital. But when he tries to get to sleep at a reasonable hour-especially at home-Savannah James isn’t always thrilled with her husband’s early shutdown routine.
“She gets mad at me when it’s time for me to go to bed,” LeBron laughed. “That’s how much I love sleep and take care of my body. But about nine o’clock at night, I’m like, ‘what time you going to bed?’ She’s like, ‘you’re going to sleep?’ Yeah, like, I am.”
LeBron shares rare moment of fatigue on the road
James also revealed a particularly exhausting moment during a road trip, highlighting the toll of the grind-even for the NBA’s iron man. When Nash asked if he ever struggled to sleep after games while traveling, James recalled a recent trip from Denver.
“It killed me on the way back from Denver. Oh my goodness!” he repeated, before diving into a moment in Portland that pushed his limits.
After getting his usual post-game rehab and treatment, James planned to sleep at 1 a.m. and catch the 2:30 a.m. alarm to make the first bus to the arena for a 7 p.m. game. But when the alarm went off, his body shut down.
“My body basically says, there’s no way you get out of this bed yet,” he admitted.
Eventually rising at 4 a.m., James barely made the last bus, skipped warmups, and stretched quickly. He told himself it wouldn’t be a big night.
And yet, the universe had other plans.
“I’m not dropping 40 tonight,” he remembered thinking. But of course, he did.
From debates with Savannah over his early bedtimes to dragging himself out of bed for game day, LeBron James is proving that even the greatest aren’t immune to exhaustion, nagging alarms, and family dynamics.
But what separates him from the rest is his relentless commitment to staying in peak form-even if it means turning in before the sun sets.
Because for LeBron, greatness doesn’t sleep… but when it does, it clocks in at 9 p.m. sharp.
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