It’s a term from martial arts novels that refers to a person who has trained his or her body to the limit through external kung fu, so that the body can withstand any attack. In recent years, it”s also been used as a metaphor in sports. It”s often used to describe athletes who play for long periods of time without major injuries, or who have incredible physical strength.
It”s one of the highest compliments given that one of the best qualities of an athlete is their durability. It”s the complete opposite of a glass body. It”s something that clubs look for in a star athlete with a high salary. In addition to being naturally durable, it”s also important to take care of yourself.
A lazy or mentally challenged player will never reach this level. In that sense, it can be a marker of a player”s integrity. This is why the nickname Geumgang Bulguk is one of the best nicknames for a sports star.
In the KBL, the most prominent example of a player who”s been called a “golden bulldog” is Lee Jung-hyun (36‧190.3 cm). His skills have been declining noticeably in recent years due to age-related decline, but not long ago, he was one of the best shooting guards in Korea. He holds the record for most appearances and has been a mainstay since his rookie year, showing off his durability.
If we expand our gaze to the NBA, there is no doubt that LeBron James (39‧206cm) is the best in this field. This season has been a bittersweet one for LeBron. It started off badly. Poor performances and a string of losses put him in the bottom half of the standings early on. The Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff hopes seemed to be slipping away.
Then, just before the trade deadline, a turnaround occurred. In late January, the Lakers acquired Rui Hachimura from Washington in a three-way trade with Minnesota and Utah for D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jared Vanderbilt. The Lakers have begun to rebound, but their problem has been an over-reliance on LeBron and Anthony Davis (6-foot-10).
The new players had their own niches rather than trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. The Lakers began to play better in the second half of the season as the team began to play together, adding more style options and raising the energy level.
Since the trade, the Lakers have gone 18-9 and are a much different team. Although they didn’t finish as high in the standings as they would have liked due to a number of forgotten wins, there’s no denying that the Lakers were one of the teams to make a late-season surge. That surge continued into the playoffs.
As if punching their ticket to the playoffs wasn’t hard enough, they made it all the way through the play-in tournament and then pulled off back-to-back upsets against the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in the West and the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors to reach the conference finals. It was the first time the Lakers’ team colors were different from LeBron’s. Unfortunately, the Lakers lost their fourth straight series against Denver, a strong favorite, but their performance was worthy of applause.
Golden State in the second round and Denver in the Conference Finals were both similar and different. Both teams had in common that their primary offensive options were a combination of dual guards with league-leading offense and a big man who could lead and pass. Golden State’s pattern didn’t work against the Lakers. Golden State’s leading big man, Draymond Green, was outmuscled on offense by Davis and couldn’t get going. 스포츠토토
Denver was different. Whereas Golden State has the nucleus of its strategy up front, Denver is centered around the league’s best big man, Nikola Jokic (28‧211cm). Against Golden State, they won the man-to-man matchup by a wide margin, but when Jokic was on the floor, the whole team was on him. Denver had more power, but they were also able to pressure the Warriors in the paint.
In the end, despite LeBron’s effort, they lost the battle of strength. As evidenced by their late-game comeback in Game 1, the Lakers were able to find and exploit Denver’s weaknesses, but it wasn’t enough. Although they didn’t make it to the Finals, LeBron did well enough with what he had. However, there was a lot of disappointment on his face.
A lesser player might have been satisfied with that, but for a player who wants to be the best of all time, a fourth-place finish was not enough. Playing in his 20th season, LeBron showed that he was still a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists over 16 games.
The aforementioned KBL player, Lee Jung-hyun, was born in 1987 and already showed a clear downward trend in his physical abilities 2-3 years ago. LeBron, on the other hand, was born in 1984 and is facing a downfall. While he’s not as dominant in the league as he was in his prime, he’s still showing class and can still be the ace of any team.
An even more surprising revelation came after his Finals run ended. LeBron reportedly played through a torn tendon in his foot during the playoffs. Depending on the circumstances, he may need surgery. This is ridiculous. It’s hard to believe that LeBron played the playoffs at full strength in a body that can’t even handle everyday life.
If it were any other player, we might question the credibility. But because it”s LeBron, fans believe it. We’ve seen his unbelievable durability and resilience over the years. LeBron’s physical abilities are beyond belief. It’s amazing that he still has that kind of body at his age.
Currently, LeBron is said to be contemplating retirement, but given his appetite for basketball, it”s more likely that he”s just putting pressure on his team to rebuild. No big star at LeBron’s age would be looking forward to the next season. But LeBron has been a monster, defying common sense. With LeBron, it could be different. Here’s how the Lakers will fight back next season.