Unleashing Greatness: LeBron James’ 20-Year Trainer Reveals the Secret to Becoming the Best

“LeBron’s drive is still going strong.”

Mike Mancias, LeBron James’ longtime personal trainer, spoke about his 20-plus years of working with LeBron on the High Performance YouTube channel. He dreamed of success in the professional world, learned training, and became an intern for the Cavaliers as an assistant trainer in the summer league. The year was 2003, and LeBron had just been drafted.

“We both started working for the Cavs at the same time. I’d been applying what I’d learned through volunteer work – in high school, at a clinic, in minor league baseball, interning as an emergency medical technician – just trying to gain experience and get an opportunity in the field of sports medicine,” Mancias said.

“To tell the truth, I didn’t know about LeBron until just before. A friend who knew the NBA said, ‘It would be great to work with LeBron,’ but I was like, ‘He’s just a high school student, isn’t he?’ I just wanted to do a good job and be recognized by the team. When I first gave him some treatment in the hotel room, I was amazed at how well-proportioned he was, not just big, and I remember thinking, ‘This kid is special.'”

A year later, Mancias was officially hired as an assistant trainer for the Cavs. “When I was instructing the players on stretching exercises at training camp, LeBron came up to me and asked, ‘What does this movement mean?’ Most players just do the movements they’re told, but he was very curious and wanted to know everything. He listened intently to my explanations, like, ‘This will pull your hips back inward,’ or, ‘This will work on your ankles.'”

After that, LeBron started calling Mancias before team practice began. Then, one day before the 2007 season began, LeBron asked Mancias, “Can you do this training at my house?”

“It was Halloween night. When I arrived at his house, he opened the door dressed as Batman. I trained with him for about 20 minutes in front of a bunch of other guests. After that, I started doing it every time before a game. I would go to his house in Akron, do exercises, training, sometimes ice treatments, and then have dinner with his family. It’s amazing that Bronny, who was in a high chair and spoon-fed at the time, is now an NBA player (laughs).”

LeBron and Mancias share a commonality of being curious and competitive. Their goal is to become the best player. Mancias says, “Everyone is different, so what constitutes high performance is different for each person. First, you need to know your own strengths and weaknesses and determine what you want to become. To become the best player requires great sacrifice and dedication, and you need to continue playing at the highest level for a long time. It’s not just about being a great player, you need to continue being a great player. That’s our challenge.”

Mancias says that LeBron’s great thing is his consistency. When they first met, he would buy fast food on the way to the arena and eat it in the locker room before going to the game, but he took Mancias’ advice and started to get perfect nutrition and stay well hydrated. He sleeps 8 to 10 hours a day. On the rare occasion that he stays up late, he tells Mancias honestly and embarrassedly the next morning.

“I celebrated the first time I won, but that was it. I realized that to be the best, I had to win again and again,” Mancias said. “I was a blank canvas. He embraced me and included me on this journey, and it’s allowed me to have a career I never imagined. But the challenge isn’t over yet, because LeBron’s drive to be the best is still there.”

“When you’ve been together for 20 years, sometimes it can get tiring, especially in the middle of a long season when you think: ‘Another training session…’. But we are clear about what we want to achieve. We know the meaning of our journey and we know that our goal will be the best.”