Many consider Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James not just one of the best players in NBA history, but also one of the smartest. And veteran center Andre Drummond found out exactly why during his short time as James’ teammate with the Lakers back in 2021.
Drummond spoke highly of James’ intelligence and revealed a story during his time with the Lakers that opened his eyes into just how smart the superstar is and how much he studies the scouting reports.
“LeBron’s probably one of the smartest guys I’ve been in a locker room with,” Drummond said during a mukbang with famous internet live streamer N3on. “Very detail oriented. He knows the other team’s scouting report top to bottom, knows every guy’s percentage.
“I remember one game, I forgot who we were playing. I over-helped to somebody in the corner and he was like ‘Drum don’t f—ing go out there that man shooting 32% from 3, go up to the top.’ I said how the f— do you know what people shoot percentage wise? It was the craziest shit I’ve ever heard, I’m like, OK. And granted he missed the shot too, but he’s like, ‘don’t go there, go up. Leave him.’ I’m like alright, I gotta start watching film a little bit differently, start looking at the analytics, because he knows the analytics like top to bottom. Super, super smart dude, fun dude to be around. He’s a big kid, man.”
Many teammates of James have stories similar to this and the level of detail that his knowledge goes too. Many players can say not to close out on certain players because they aren’t great shooters, but very few can tell you exactly where they shoot the worst and the percentage that they shoot. That is the difference between James and other players.
Some opponents have spoken in the past about James being able to immediately identify the plays they are calling and adjusting his team’s defense in real-time and that is just a level of knowledge that few are able to reach. But that is exactly why James will go down as arguably the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball.
LeBron James has no idea how he remembers so many teammates’ handshakes
Another area that shows James’ unbelievable brain capacity is the elaborate handshakes he has with teammates both current and past. And even James himself isn’t sure how he remembers all of them.
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