There is no denying that LeBron James is one of, if not the greatest basketball player, to ever step foot on an NBA floor. Be it with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron has won at every stop and has put together a career that is simply unmatched when it comes to numbers and longevity as nobody has been this good for this long.
But one area of criticism that James has faced throughout his career has been his mindset in clutch situations. Whereas many expect the best player to always try and take the last shot, LeBron has been someone who will make the right play and kick it out to an open teammate if that is the best move. And that is something he will not back down from.
In the latest episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash, James spoke on why he will always choose to make the right play instead of force a shot with the Lakers superstar also adding that he just brushes off the criticism that comes from those who have never been in the situation:
“I just stay true to what got me to that point. Like I knew I was taught the game the right way as a kid because we won. It worked. It really worked. I realized that when I got to the NBA, I won 3 state championships in high school and I thought it was something that all NBA players did. I thought if you’re one of the best players in the world or you’re one of the best players on your high school team, you should be able to win a state championship. And I got in the NBA and it was a lot of guys that never won a state championship, that never won a AAU National Finals and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness. I absolutely was taught the game the right way and we all succeeded and had fun doing it.’ Like it brought so much enjoyment to be able to play the game the right way. I never averaged more than 30 points in high school. I think my highest average was like 27-28, I believe. It wasn’t about that, I could’ve averaged 50 points a game if I wanted to in my junior and senior year, but it was never about that. It was about, how can I maximize my teammates? How can I get the most out of my teammates in order for us to be successful? We came here to win state championships. We came here to win AAU tournaments and AAU National Championships. And I felt like in order for me to win ultimately in the pros, even though it’s a different level, I couldn’t give up the essence of what made me fall in love with the game and how I was taught. Even if the criticism, it still goes on, it happened in the 2020 Finals and I had an unbelievable game in one of the games to close out the Heat in the Finals. And I drove the ball, two or three defenders came and I found Danny Green wide open for a 3 and he missed it and we went to a Game 6. And I’ll take it every time. I take it every time. And people are like why didn’t you take the shot, he should’ve took the shot, there he goes again passing the shot. I don’t know the quote verbatim, but Theodore Roosevelt, the man in the arena. It’s like one of my favorite quotes about being mirrored with dust and everything and it’s always the guy that’s not in the arena is the one that’s the loudest and talks the loudest. But you’ve never stepped foot in the arena so how can you ever challenge what I am doing?”
James has always said that he is about winning and doing whatever is needed in order to win. And he has won at every single level so it’s hard to argue with his point. Because so many grew up watching Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant taking all of those shots, it is odd to see someone like LeBron choose to pass them up sometimes, but that is what works best for him.
No matter what, LeBron will still go down as one of the greatest players in NBA history and will have his jersey in the rafters for the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers when it is all said and done.
Lakers’ LeBron James offers prayers for Celtics star Jayson Tatum
Unfortunately, one of the rising superstars in today’s game, Jayson Tatum, suffered what looked to be a very serious leg injury late in the Boston Celtics’ Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks.
Tatum went down on a non-contact injury with what looks to be a possible torn Achilles, which would not only end his run this year, but also cause him to miss most, if not all of next season as well. Despite the forever rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics, LeBron James offered prayers to Tatum on social media following the injury as nobody wants anyone to be hurt, especially with such a serious injury as this seems to be.
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