LeBron James is one of the most incredible athletes of all time. While athletic players often succeed in the NBA, LeBron managed to couple his gifts with an acute mental awareness of the basketball court. The stories of LeBron’s basketball IQ are legendary.
Having an incredible basketball IQ was also the reason LeBron was able to pull off one of the greatest blocks in NBA history on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 NBA Finals. LeBron saw the play building up and carefully timed his run to ensure he was in the right place to block the shot and avoid a possible goaltending call.
Incredible blocks against the Warriors is something LeBron has outside of Iguodala as well. We are not talking about LeBron’s block on Steph in the Finals, but instead, a block on backup Warriors guard Ian Clark on Christmas day.
LeBron watching Ian Clark get the ball just to block him will never get old 😭 pic.twitter.com/7i6DzdaTCX
— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) July 24, 2022
LeBron planned for the play to go exactly like that. When he saw Clark run after the ball, he knew to not chase him and instead wait for a second before moving to cover the rim. Clark was on the run and managed to grab the ball and went for the layup. LeBron barely jumped to swat the layup off the glass the second Clark shot the ball.
Plays like this are incredible to watch LeBron pull off. He is one of the best chase-down artists in NBA history because of his incredible mix of athleticism, skill, and awareness. Clark isn’t one of the elite names he has managed to swat but this play shows the incredible level of court awareness LeBron is on.
This gift is one of the main reasons LeBron has been able to extend his career. He is incredibly adept at making sure that the court is as simple for him to operate on as possible.
