- LeBron James says the NBA had low possessions when he was drafted
- Very few players attempted the pick and roll, and the most common play to run was to throw the ball in the post
- James has adapted to these changes over the years to remain one of the best players in the NBA
LeBron James was drafted into the league in the 2003 NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected the 18-year-old prospect with the first overall pick. Now, 20 years later, James is still one of the best players in the league.
But a key reason behind James’ success in the NBA is his ability to adapt his game. LeBron James shared his thought process on the same during a Feb. 2023 interview with legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“When I came into the game, it was very low possessions,” James said. “It was not many pick and rolls. It was the big forwards. Big forwards as in it was Shaq, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Malone was still in the league. They was like throw the ball into the post. Everybody kind of standing still, let the big work, and if it’s a double, kick it out, swing, swing, that was kind of the game.
“And then Mike D’Antoni came to Phoenix, Steve Nash gets there, and it became how many possessions and how many threes we can get out. Run it to the corners. So I had to adapt to that.”
James added that the arrival of Stephen Curry changed everything: “And then a young kid by the name of Steph Curry enters our league and it becomes pace and space and they started to value the game of analytics what gets lost in translation is the basketball IQ.”
(Starts at 12:27)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xthF9irXi_E
James has essentially adapted to the new changes in the game of basketball three times in his 20-year-long career in the NBA.
What’s amazing is the fact that he has still remained an elite player in the league and won four NBA Championships in his career. It just goes to prove that James is a generational talent, and we may never see a player like him in the league for decades.
LeBron James Is Ready For Year 21
LeBron James hinted at potentially retiring from the NBA after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
However, after weeks of confusion, James announced that he will not retire from the NBA and return to the Lakers for the 2023-24 season.
James recently shared a video of working out and he believes it’s still prime time for him. He averaged 28.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 6.8 APG in the 2022-23 NBA season. It’ll be exciting to see if he can keep up these numbers as a 38-year-old.
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