Just as important as on-court work is for players and teams to improve, there is also a lot to be learned from studying film. This is something Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has always embraced throughout his career in figuring out the best ways for him to attack the opposition and see areas where he needs to improve.
But there is also a proper way to study film and certain things to watch for and James broke down what he looks for in himself when watching the tapes.
“I think for me, it’s so many games where I’m like super passive in a sense of when I have high turnover games and it was because I was too passive. Just super casual,” James said on the latest episode of his Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash. “A lot of people see when I come to the bench I grab a stat sheet from one of our assistant coaches and the first thing I look at is my personal turnovers. And then I kind of look at the opposing team’s offensive rebounds and their fast break points. And the reason for that is those are effort plays. Are we boxing out, are we getting defensive rebounds and then are we getting back in transition.
“But the first thing I look at is my turnovers. So that’s kind of one of the one things that kind of I critique myself on, on when I’m having non-aggressive turnovers. Like if I’m being aggressive, Im going to the hole, I try to make a skip pass to my teammate I turn it over, or I go to the hole and I get stripped it’s a turnover, I’m OK with those. But it’s the ones that’s unforced turnovers or just not being aggressive, not read and reacting or just not decisive, that would be it for me.”
For James, it is all about aggression and being in attack mode. He wants to see if he is being decisive or being passive and if so, what is making him be passive in those contests. He is also looking at the team’s overall effort in hopes of seeing where everyone can improve.
There are so many things, big and small, that can be gleamed from proper film study and that is one of the many reasons why James has enjoyed such a long and storied career.
LeBron James gives flowers to Chris Paul
Whether James continues his career is unknown, but his close friend Chris Paul announced his retirement during the season. James gave his thoughts on the career of Paul, calling him one of the best point guards to ever play the game.
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