The side of LeBron’s strong finishes you don’t see

1:45 PM ET

When LeBron James plowed through a foul from Paul Millsap to finish a cutting layup late in the fourth quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks, observers on Twitter reacted as they had countless times before. “He’s too strong,” “He’s not human,” and “How does he do that” were common refrains among fans on Twitter, as the Cavaliers star managed to compose himself in midair to score the basket despite the contact and head to the free throw line for the first time in the game, putting the Cavs up by seven in a game they went on to win by 11. I can’t speak to his humanity — though there’s no evidence to suggest that he’s not a member of the human race — but as for how he does that, that’s a slightly easier question to answer. It’s the product of hard work, and specific work, the kind of which few get to see, and even fewer have gotten to experience. I happen to be one of those few. Now, to be clear, I am not LeBron James. I can slip on his size 50, +4 length jersey and lace up his signature LeBron XIII sneakers, but that doesn’t make me the Cavaliers star. And while I might tip the scales the same as the four-time MVP’s listed weight, he has a good 10 inches on me — and his weight is mostly muscle, mine is decidedly not. So it’s safe to say when I step onto a basketball court, no one is going to confuse me with the 12-time All-Star. But for one day at All-Star Weekend, I got a chance to feel what it was like to be LeBron James on a basketball court, thanks to Nike’s “Bring Your Game” workout program. It gave me incredible insight into how he gets his body and game ready for those powerful finishes at the basket that leave fans in awe.

James takes a lot of punishment …

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