Getty Image
Every sports fan reaches a point in life where they’re forced to admit they’re Officially Old after realizing most players hail from a decidedly younger generation, but LeBron James got a slightly different kind of reality check after discovering the age of the current coach of the Utah Jazz.
The 2023-24 campaign marks the 21st season LeBron James has played in the NBA, and the fact that the 38-year-old is still one of the best players in the league despite being its oldest active member (he’s got a slight edge on P.J. Tucker and Chris Paul) is one of the many reasons he’ll likely be considered the G.O.A.T. when he finally steps away from the game.
It makes sense that most basketball coaches are on the older side, but in 2022, the Utah Jazz took a bit of a leap of faith when they hired Will Hardy, a former college basketball player and Gregg Popovich protégé who spent a season as an assistant coach for the Celtics before taking the helm in Salt Lake City at the age of 34.
On Tuesday night, Hardy and the Jazz dropped to 4-10 on the season following a 131-99 thrashing at the hands of LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers.
While James and Co. were more than ready to combat the opposing coach’s gameplan, the veteran was apparently not ready to learn he’s three years older than Hardy, as he had a very understandable reaction after learning about their age gap during a conversation with reporters in the locker room after the game.
The great @geeter3 asks LeBron James how he wraps his head around being older than Jazz coach Will Hardy. Great reaction pic.twitter.com/UxD2WGldWJ
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 22, 2023
As someone who had a very similar reaction earlier this year after realizing the vast majority of college football players who stepped onto the gridiron this season weren’t born when 9/11 happened, I can’t say I blame LeBron for having trouble processing that revelation.