Never before in NBA history has a player been as versatile as LeBron James. Besides being able to adapt to changing circumstances (like he has for the past 18 years), he can play any position in basketball at an elite level.
He’s been proving that fact true of late, with head coach Frank Vogel giving him significant minutes at the center spot.
Despite being undersized for the position, he has really made it his own, and the Lakers have found the most success when he is playing the role for long stretches of time.
Speaking on James and his performance at the five, FOX Sports’ Shannon Sharpe went so far as to call James the third-best center in the league, even above Jazz star Rudy Gobert.
“I believe in the history of the ball game there are two guys that can do what he’s doing and I’ve seen one of them do it and that’s Magic Johnson (I saw him do it in the NBA Finals) and I believe that’s LeBron James. It’s a lot different now than it was back then because you don’t have traditional centers. You don’t have guys that really post up. Now, it’s positionless basketball and it has allowed LeBron James to play the five.
There is no questioning his versatility on the defensive end. He can’t play like that now at 37 years of age but what he’s doing offensively is to be commended. Right now if you make me say it, I’ll say he’s the third-best center in the NBA, behind Jokic and Embiid. He’s better than Gobert.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIahqTOMpEc
As Shannon mentioned in the segment, LeBron has played center before, just ass he’s played point guard and pretty much every other position.
But this is the first time he’s seeing a long-term assignment at the five. With Anthony Davis out, James has been tapped to fill in as the “man in the middle.” No doubt, James will slide up when AD finally returns, but it doesn’t mean we should forget what Bron has been doing.
Through 29 games so far this season, James is averaging 28.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game (tied for his career-high) on 52% shooting.
Dominating the center position, at 37 years old, has just given us yet another reason to behold the impressive talent and durability of the King.
