In a recent interview with Jefe Island, Quinn Cook recounted an eye-opening experience with LeBron James during his time with the Cavaliers’ G-League team.
Cook vividly described his routine of arriving early at the practice facility to have breakfast before the team’s training session.
“I tell this story all the time,” Cook began. “I’ll leave early, I’ll eat breakfast there (Cavaliers practice facility)… I go into the kitchen to get some breakfast… I probably eat breakfast for about 15 minutes. As I’m coming out, I hear this grunting noise of somebody working out. And I don’t know the facility like all the way yet. Bend a corner and I go the wrong way…”
Cook continued, “As I make another left to get to the court, LeBron’s in a full sweat. Drenched. Practice is at 10, I got there at 7. This is 7:20, Bron is in there, full sweat getting after it. This is Bron in 2015, four MVPs later, two rings later.”
What struck Cook most was the intensity and dedication LeBron displayed, despite his already illustrious career.
“Still working as if he’s trying to make the team like I am. It just opened my eyes, bro, I had a different respect. This stuff doesn’t happen by accident. Obviously, these guys are generational players, they’re gifted… They work for it too. He was always the first one in the gym, every day.”
Cook didn’t get the chance to play with LeBron on the Cavaliers, but their paths crossed again when he joined the Lakers in 2019. He witnessed LeBron’s relentless work ethic up close as they won the 2020 NBA championship together.
This experience only reinforced Cook’s belief that LeBron’s success was not just about talent but about the hard work that kept him at the top of the game.
