LeBron James’ impeccably clean bill of health

The Cleveland Cavaliers should be glad to have a player like LeBron James. An otherwordly athlete with an impeccably clean bill of health.

Cleveland Cavaliers patriarch LeBron James has long been seen as one of the most injury-averse athletes in professional sports. In 14 seasons there have only been two instances where James has played less than 70 games.

While today he gets regular rest, a byproduct of recurring back pain that he’s had since the 2010-2011 season when he missed two weeks to rest, James has been able to avoid any tears or breaks other than a broken nose he sustained in the 2013-1014 season.

(Editor’s note: That broken nose led to the classic “Black Mask Game”.)

In fact, out of 1,148 possible games, James has missed 87 of them since 2003. That means James has played in 92.4 percent of all possible games since his rookie season.

Looking at other all-world athletes and a guy like Michael Jordan missed 64 games in his sophomore season after breaking his left foot. He was, however, remarkably healthy for the duration of his career though, playing in all 82 games on nine separate occasions in his career. Including his final season with the Washington Wizards, when he was 39-years-old.

Kobe Bryant’s body held up until the 2013-2014 season. But then again, with Bryant’s notorious pain tolerance, there were quite a few of those games where Bryant was more than dinged up. He was actually injured. Bleacher Report has listed quite a few of those injuries.

Dwyane Wade has had a laundry list of injuries throughout his career. Kevin Durant just broke his right foot this season. Paul George had a compound fracture in 2014.

It’s crazy that despite James playing in over 1,000 NBA games and having played 48 games (essentially half a season) against international competition, James has yet to miss a playoff game.

Especially considering the level of his play has been similar to Jordan’s and he’s been as healthy in 28 more games. (For the record, Jordan played in 11 more regular season games but 144 games came after his second retirement. Jordan only played in 8 games against international competition.)

James, who has a

hyperbolic

hyperbaric

time

oxygen chamber and essentially a 24-hour treatment facility around him at all times, is an athlete who is taking full advantage of the medical advances players like Jordan didn’t have a chance to.

According to Dr. Paul G. Harch’s (M.D.) website, HBOT.com, this is how hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can be explained:

"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment which enhances the body’s natural healing process by inhalation of 100% oxygen in a total body chamber, where atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled. It is used for a wide variety of treatments usually as a part of an overall medical care plan.Under normal circumstances, oxygen is transported throughout the body only by red blood cells. With HBOT, oxygen is dissolved into all of the body’s fluids, the plasma, the central nervous system fluids, the lymph, and the bone and can be carried to areas where circulation is diminished or blocked. In this way, extra oxygen can reach all of the damaged tissues and the body can support its own healing process. The increased oxygen greatly enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria, reduces swelling and allows new blood vessels to grow more rapidly into the affected areas. It is a simple, non-invasive and painless treatment."

Advanced stuff, right?

Nonetheless, while James has been able to enjoy the fruits of the future, the things that James can do on the basketball court with his size, strength, speed, explosiveness and the brute force with which he attacks the rim begs the question: is James the greatest athlete of all time?

After all, he can jump out of the gym, bulldoze his way though centers, dash down the court like a bullet and do it for 14 seasons with minimal wear and tear on his body. There are others have comparable bills of health (Jordan) and there are even players with comparable athletic abilities (Blake Griffin).

However, is there a player that brings together both like James?

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Do you think that LeBron James is the greatest athlete of all-time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.