LeBron James is getting into the podcast game
LeBron James and his longtime business partner Maverick Carter are moving into the podcast world.
On Wednesday, James and Carters' media company Uninterrupted announced that they had partnered with the Open Run podcast, a popular basketball podcast hosted by the Gray's Anatomy star Jessie Williams and the journalist Stefan Marolachakis.
"Open Run creates a forum for athletes and other notable sports and entertainment figures to have in-depth discussions on the engaging and timely topics that transcend sports and culture today," the company announced in a press release.
In the inaugural podcast under the Uninterrupted Podcast Network umbrella, Williams and Marolachakis are joined, fittingly, by King James himself.
In a conversation that spans over an hour, James is surprisingly candid. He opens up about his relationship with fellow NBA players Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, and he shares anecdotes about what was going on in the Cleveland locker room during the Finals after going down 3-1 to the Warriors.
Perhaps most shockingly of all, James reveals the longest stretch of time he's gone without working working out over the past seven or eight years.
"Probably 72 hours," he said, laughing.
James explains that he tells himself every offseason that he needs to give his body a rest, but after vegging at his annual 4th of July BBQ, he can't help but get himself back in the gym.
"I tell myself every offseason ... 'Bron, you have to chill out.' You have to rest,'" he said. "Working out is a lifestyle."
Still, a mere 72 hours of rest does not exactly sound like extended downtime, but then, LeBron James is not your average human.
James also joked about getting his off-season exercise from surprising places.
"Holding that damn banana boat is actually exercise, I'll tell you that," he said, referring to his famous boating photo Paul, Anthony, and Wade.
While James is not expected to be a regular guest on the Open Run show, his involvement on the production side still signals a growing trend among professional athletes using different media outlets to control their own stories.
After retiring from baseball, Derek Jeter founded The Player's Tribune, and earlier this summer when Kevin Durant announced his decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors, he broke the news himself of Jeter's platform (and crashed the website). Similarly, Los Angeles Clippers forward JJ Redick has his own weekly podcast with Yahoo, where he regularly chats with other NBA players.
Uninterrupted, James explained, began out of a similar place.
"It gives athletes a platform to dig deeper into their craft, into their sport, into their lives, and give something more to their fans."