Music helps LeBron James play better

You’ve seen the video clip so many times: LeBron James before a game conditioning not only by warming up his muscles but mentally and emotionally preparing by listening to his play-list with his Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. He was the first to have it, or at least displayed it, and now many athletes have it, too. Thanks to the King, as he is fondly called, Beats is now an athlete’s must-have accessory.

Intrigued by this and enthralled by a very entertaining 7-game finals, I researched on LeBron’s playlist and the role of music in his game. In the February 18 issue of ESPN magazine, both LeBron and Dr. Dre of the Beats empire were featured, including their playlist.

LeBron revealed that his playlist for every game is different, depending on how he feels or what he needs to play his best in a game. While trainer Mike Mancias works up his muscles in the locker room, LeBron uses his DJ skills on his Samsung Galaxy Note II.

To motivate his teammates, Beats by Dr. Dre speakers blast his playlist in the locker room. Those who wish to tune out, just put on their own Beats. LeBron raps, “You don’t want no problems,” a la Dom Kennedy whose My Type of Party made it to the night’s playlist.

“I know where I want to be before each game, and the music is how I get there,” he told ESPN. “I allow myself to feel the music and get lost in my preparation.”

Asked for a playlist, LeBron gave ESPN the following: Trap Back Jumpin by T.I., Get Right by Young Jeezy, I’m Different by 2 Chainz, Diamonds (Remix) by Rihanna, Remember You by Wiz Khalifa (featuring The Weekend), Clique by Jay-Z, Big Sean, Kanye West, Gone by Wiz Khalifa (featuring Juicy J), Conflicted by Jerreau, Long Live ASAP by ASAP Rocky, and Still D.R.E. by Dr. Dre.

While no one will question the skills of the four-time MVP, the iconic popularity of Beats is equally phenomenal. ESPN revealed that “Beats has gone from zero to full-blown cultural phenomenon in less than five years. Four years ago, $59-million worth of premium headphones — those priced at $99 and up — were sold in North America, according to market research firm NPD Group. In 2012, $850-million worth was sold across the continent. Nearly two out of every three pairs carried the iconic Beats by Dr. Dre logo, a lowercase b in a custom font based on Avant Garde Gothic. Today, the company —officially known as Beats Electronics — makes six over-the-ear headphones (the cheapest sell for $200 a pair), four earphones, and three speakers. It has partnered with Chrysler, HP, and HTC to put its Beats Audio technology in cars and computers and in mobile devices, and recently announced plans to launch a Beats music-streaming service. Tom Brady wears them. Matt Kemp wears them. Serena wears them. Beckham wears them. Most of the NBA wears them.”

Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre’s partner in this venture, has the same financial advisor as LeBron. He knew that LeBron was passionate about his music so he passed on a Beats prototype for him to try. This was before the 2008 Olympics. He loved it so much, he asked for more for his teammates. Before long, everyone was asking what brand of headphones is that with the small b. Though details are undisclosed, LeBron entered into a formal business relationship with Iovine and Dr. Dre.

The message is the right headphones can heighten your focus and help you become a better athlete. “In fact, James has been better, according to almost every statistical measure in the four-plus seasons since he began wearing Beats, than he was in his first five in the league,” noted ESPN in the article. He has won two NBA championships with the Miami Heat, two Olympic gold medals, and four MVPs.

Dr. Greg Dale, director of sports psychology for Duke athletics told ESPN, “Typically, when you ask an athlete what it looked and felt like when they played their best, they’ll say things like ‘smooth’ and ‘fluid’ and ‘rhythmic.’ If you can use music to help feel those sensations, that’s huge.”

As a noise-canceling headphone, Dale said that Beats might be helping athletes in a different way. “The headphones could enhance your ability to drown out external noise and help you focus on what’s relevant to you. That’s critical to consistently high levels of performance. But just because you use this equipment doesn’t mean you’re going to lock in like LeBron James. He’s disciplined himself to get into game mode using music,” he told ESPN.

LeBron James told ESPN that he chooses songs to try to rally his teammates  to what he calls “a song that will hit home and help us prepare for battle.” He revealed that during Miami’s title run last season, he began playing regularly Big K.R.I.T.’s Southern rap anthem I Got This to the point that it became the Heat’s unofficial theme. “I listened to it all the time. The words, the beat, the feel — all of it worked for me,” he said.

Much recently, ESPN.com covered the behind-the-scenes for the Beats video of LeBron and Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds featuring their Radioactive. LeBron told ESPN that since he is dubbed “King James” he gets to pick the tunes as the Heat’s team DJ. He said that music in general and Radioactive in particular help get him in the mood to play in court.

Reynolds also has high regards for LeBron.  â€œI’ve always found inspiration in people who were pushing the boundaries .... of human capabilities,” he told ESPN. He found it “pretty incredible” that James and the Heat have taken an interest in their song.

I wasn’t surprised to find out they have an official DJ. I experienced a play-off last year and would love to be in an NBA finals soon. Everything works you up for a really big experience. There is a mountain of free shirts so that everybody in the court is proudly wearing their team’s color. There is entertainment in the lobby to keep you excited. Then when you enter the arena, the lights, the music all build up a festive mood. And the game has yet to begin.

Crucial to such an experience is the one spinning the music. That’s where DJ Irie comes in. He raises the American Airlines Arena roof for all the home games of the Miami Heat. A true fan, he even flew to San Antonio to support the team. In Miami, he keeps the arena rockin’ with his cutting-edge hip-hop sets.

The NBA All-Star schedule can be very hectic for Irie, who was Miami’s No. 1 radio DJ in the late 1990s before the Heat wanted him to revolutionize their in-game entertainment.  During his first experience in Atlanta in 2003, he was the only NBA DJ on-site and worked Jam Session for about 12 hours a day. Then he still went on to spin night parties every evening, according to NBA.com.

 â€œWith so much that’s going on as far as diabetes and obesity, unfortunately parents put their kids in front of a DVD and give them a box of Twinkies,” says former San Antonio Spurs star and current ESPN analyst Bruce Bowen of NBA Fit Week. “Kids aren’t getting outdoors like they used to, so this is a program for kids to live a healthier lifestyle and understand how important it is to get outside and smell the fresh air.”

Portland Trail Blazers star Wesley Matthews use mainstream hip-hop to get himself ready for game time. “If I was going to make a playlist for the weight room or training, it would probably have Young Jeezy, Meek Mill, Rick Ross — just a lot of uptempo beats,” he told Billboard. Matthews added that his whole team is a fan of rap music, with Young Jeezy’s new mixtape It’s Tha World, Drake’s Take Care, and Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city played regularly in their locker room before game time.

“Music was our life and set the tone for everything,” said Muggsy Bogues, the 48-year-old point guard best known for his decade of work with the Charlotte Hornets, about using music as a motivational tool during his playing days.

Bogues named I Believe I Can Fly by R. Kelly as his inspirational song.  â€œThat was a big part of the soundtrack when I was doing “Space Jam.” And that was one of our theme songs when we came out [onto the court] in Charlotte. That was something that always puts you in a different place and brings you back,” he told Billboard.

As for the real motivational song, Nick Anderson picked I Believe I Can Fly. It’s a slow song in a sense, but it has a lot of meaning to me, and I love listening to it because it inspires me, it pushes me. When I listen to it, it inspires me to keep going. When guys finish their careers, it’s a sense that it’s over now. No, that’s just the beginning! It inspires me to just keep pushing and pushing,” he concluded.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.