Nobody has a handle on the game of basketball quite like LeBron James. Whether it’s shooting, playmaking, or simply slowing down the other team’s best player, James can really do it all on the court.
But perhaps his most impressive attribute is the mental aspect of his game — the way he breaks down what’s happening in front of him and plans four moves ahead.
In the 2020 Finals, Heat star Duncan Robinson got a first-hand look at “King James'” approach, and he recently talked about it on “The Long Shot” podcast.
“LeBron is so strategic in how he approaches the game. I think it gets talked about so much to the point where I don’t know it can just kind of be lip service I guess, but it’s talked about for good reason,
I didn’t realize it until I was in it. In the playoffs last year or in the finals it’s almost like he’s playing chess when he gets the ball.
He’s moving players, pointing, manipulating things, getting the floor structured to exactly his liking before he attacks, and I think that it’s magnified in the playoffs because the possessions go down, the game is slowed down and every possession matters more.”
LeBron’s basketball IQ is not only a huge part of why he’s been so successful, it’s also a huge part of why he continues to do so well at the age of 36. He’s out there creating the best possible plays for himself and others, and it has helped him dominate at a level never seen before.
