LeBron James says his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers left him confused about what winning basketball was supposed to look like. On the latest episode of Mind the Game, the Lakers star reflected on his first year in the NBA, admitting that his early experiences in Cleveland “weirded” him out and felt nothing like the brand of basketball he knew from his high school days.
“I wasn’t the point guard of my high school team but we all could pass and cut, pass and dribble,” James said. “So even though I was the alpha of the team, my mindset was never that ‘I need to have the ball in my hands.’ It’s like, we’re winning by doing what the coaches want us to do, and our system works. So when I got to the NBA it changed for me.”
LeBron played for St. Vincent-St. Mary’s high school, boasting a 101-6 record over four years. He led them to three state championships and a national championship before making his way to the NBA. By the time he was playing his first season with the Cavaliers, it took James some time to adapt.
“I’m like, this is not winning basketball. I know what winning basketball is,” LeBron said. “And people say, ‘Well, that’s high school to the pros.’ But great basketball and winning basketball, it does not matter the level. So when I got to the NBA, I was weirded out. I was like, ‘Cause you got to make all the plays? A guy just comes down and doesn’t pass it?’ I was like, ‘Oh, what the hell is this? This is a culture shock.’”
LeBron James came into the NBA as a winner and he wanted to keep up the momentum he had built in high school. In 79 games that season, he averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game on 51.3% shooting. He did everything in his power to lead the Cavs to glory in the East, but his efforts were ultimately in vain as the Cavs finished 12 games below .500 at 35-47.
At St. Vincent-St. Mary, LeBron learned how to play the right way and his teammates had a fundamental understanding of the game. But when LeBron made the transition to the pros, he found out for himself how rare it is for teams to have it all put together. For a Cavaliers franchise with no prior history of success, they had no idea how to win or set the kind of culture every championship team requires.
Over the years, LeBron had to pave the way for a franchise transformation that redefined their identity and put them on course to compete for a title. In 2016, James finally delivered on his promise and helped the franchise win its first championship ever.
LeBron’s honesty gives us a clear picture of how much he’s grown since that first year in Cleveland. He went from being confused about how to win at the professional level to mastering the art of leadership and building a winning culture from scratch. It’s a reminder that even the greatest players have to learn the hard way before they can truly change the game, and few have ever transformed a franchise the way LeBron did with the Cavaliers.
