LeBron James explains how picking up golf has helped him prepare for the NBA season

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LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but a rookie to the game of golf.

He was first seen playing the sport this summer with his son, Bronny James, and let’s just say he has a long way to go until he’s playing off scratch!

But the four-time NBA champion is now engrossed in the game, both as a player and as a fan. On X, James congratulated Tommy Fleetwood after his Tour Championship win, and was live-posting the event throughout Sunday’s action. 

It’s not just a new hobby for James. He explained how taking up golf has helped him prepare for the upcoming NBA season.

LeBron James explains how golf has helped him prepare for the NBA season

James is preparing for his 23rd NBA season at the age of 40. He is on an unprecedented run of longevity and has a stellar record of preparing his body for the long season ahead.

But this time around, James wanted something new that could challenge him mentally, so he took up a sport that was entirely new for him. And he immediately fell in love with it. 

Speaking on the Mind the Game podcast, he said, “I actually wanted to challenge the mind with something else, and I actually picked up golf a little bit.

“Obviously, the biggest thing with golf is that this is the first time I’ve played an individual sport, so there’s no like trying to make sure the teammate is in the right spot or I need my teammate to make the right play or he needs me to make the right play in order for us to win.

“It’s me vs each hole. And it is like the most complicated mind f–k ever. It’s just you vs the greens. And I love that aspect of like something that’s so uncomfortable and so hard. I love that.

“The bug is real. I’ve heard about the bug for so many years, and I was like, ‘Well, it’s not going to be me. I don’t even I don’t like golf at all. Who wants to be outside all day walking around and carting around?’

“Like, no, it’s real. I am into it. Like my algorithm on my phone on social media, every other post or every other video is some type of golf video now. Swing mechanics. Par fours, par fives, the best golf courses in America, the best golf courses in the world. Like, what should you not do, what should you do.

“John Daly’s swing, everybody stay away from it, he’s one of a kind. I’m getting the whole education.”

We can all relate to the feeling, but James has a long way to go before he’s the best golfer in the NBA!

Stephen Curry is among the best golfers in the NBA

The NBA is filled with avid golfers, and some are legitimately great at the sport.

Stephen Curry is one of the best golfers in the NBA. The PGA Tour reported in 2023 that Curry’s handicap was +1.3, and Curry won the 2024 American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament. 

But someone who can contend with Curry is Austin Reaves. As of 2024, Reaves carried a +2.2 handicap in California, and once shot a 76 on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Visit Knoxville Open.

And famously, Michael Jordan was golf-obsessed both during and after his NBA career. The six-time champion has a reported handicap of -5, and he owns his own course, Grove XXIII in Florida. 

Meanwhile, James is a complete beginner. While he’s in contention with Jordan for being the best NBA player of all time, there is no debate who is better with a club in their hand.