When LeBron James was a rookie and a spring-legged 18-year-old, he didn't always tape his ankles when playing. After games, he was often out of the locker room and into the night within a few minutes. Pizza and Fruity Pebbles were cornerstones of his diet.
That version of James wouldn't recognize the modern incarnation. James' life off the basketball floor these days is an endless journey of body maintenance and injury prevention, from massages to expansive stretching routines to high-tech recovery devices that use liquid nitrogen. He goes on sugar-free diets and after games more routinely eats sushi and guzzles recovery drinks.