How LeBron James Fixed His Back and is on Track to Play All 82 Games

In the past 15 years, stories about LeBron James' body have become a bit legendary with teammates.

Seeing him turn his ankle nearly 90 degrees only to tighten his shoelaces and finish with a triple-double. Watching him show up four hours before a playoff game to get in a sweat-soaked workout, then play more than 40 minutes and score 40 points. And the topper: the time James gained seven pounds during an Eastern Conference finals game.

Some Miami Heat teammates saw the scale and attest to it in amazement. James himself just shrugs and calls it "weird as hell." The truly wild part is that it was from 271 pounds to 278 pounds, though James is much lighter these days.

It all gives the impression that James is invincible. Of course, that isn't true. James' athleticism is the product of genetics and work -- not just in the number of hours, but also in his thoughtful and ever-evolving approach toward training and recovery.

A few years ago, James did run into a problem, a serious issue that for the first time truly threatened to derail his career. He had disc issues in his lower back that were zapping his strength and bounce. He didn't talk about them much, and he tried his best to play through them. But James -- video and stats showed -- was weakening.

Now, it's hard to fathom. Now, he's seen plucking a steal from midair in Phoenix last week and throwing down a windmill dunk that had people pulling out video from 2003 for comparison. Then, there was the dunk in Portland over Jusuf Nurkic, which had as much explosion and power as any move of James' long career.

That's just a recap of the past few days. From November, when James scored a Cavaliers career-high 57 points in a game, to February, when he averaged a triple-double for the month, James has repeatedly said this is the best he has ever felt. On Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks (7 p.m. ET on ESPN), James will play in his 70th consecutive game as he chases the first season in which he plays in all 82 games.

Back in 2015, however, James was laying on the court during timeouts, propped on a towel in discomfort. It brought to mind Larry Bird and Steve Nash, all-time greats who saw their careers zapped in their 30s because of back issues.

James needed two anti-inflammatory injections in his lower back in a 10-month span in 2015, one shutting him down for two weeks at midseason and another wiping out his preseason. And the possibility was left open that he might need more numbing shots, an indication he was dealing with something serious.

Concerned, James called in a specialist, a quiet and unassuming man who has been around the Cavs nearly every day for the past three seasons but who largely goes unnoticed, even as the product of his work is on display with James nightly. He is Donnie Raimon, James' personal biomechanist -- a specialist in human movement who combines biology and physical mechanics -- and the man who has helped James overcome those back problems.

Raimon is the reason James occasionally wears hats with a Navy SEALs logo during interviews, the crest with an eagle clutching a pistol and a trident acting as one of James' subtle messages he occasionally sends with clothing.

Raimon was a SEAL for 15 years and became a disciple of biomechanics when he used the science to help himself get over a severe neck injury suffered during a parachute jump that Navy doctors struggled to heal.

He purposely avoids the spotlight and doesn't do interviews. James generally doesn't speak about Raimon or his techniques, and he credits the Cavs training staff with working to keep him in the best shape.

"Between Donnie and Mike, it's a great one-two punch," James said.

Mike is Mike Mancias, who has been taking care of James' body since 2004 and is one of the most valued people in his circle. Mancias is in charge of much of James' recovery after games and practices. There are times when James works late into the night with Mancias and then starts again right after the crack of dawn, especially in the playoffs.

Much of Raimon's work with James happens before practices and games. Some of the work has gone viral in social media posts that show him putting James through ridiculous pregame paces using a physio ball. The results are on display in watching James' movements on the floor, where he looks as strong and fluid as ever.