Throughout his NBA career, whether with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James has pretty much always been the player to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time. And it is for good reason as he is one of the most gifted playmakers the NBA has ever seen and is amazing at creating open looks for his teammates.
This season, however, brought about a major change after the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic. James immediately recognized that a player of Doncic’s caliber should have the ball in his hands primarily and thus, he would switch to a more off-ball role for the first time in his career.
Making that adjustment was not easy, but LeBron did so and the Lakers were better for it. And that evolution, and the knowledge that you can still make a major impact without being the main guy is something James hopes other players realize, as he discussed on the latest episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash:
“And that’s what I hope that like, a lot of people get from our conversations, watching me play like, you don’t have to be the leading scorer on the team or you don’t have to be the guy that’s handling the ball all the time in order to make an impact. Or you can be that guy early on and then be able to have a growth mindset. It’s OK to still be able to make an impact at a high level and change your game over the course of time… Just having that mindset that I am willing to do whatever. I am willing to grow and be uncomfortable in order for me to still be successful and be a thing on the team.”
With the pressure of being the primary creator off his shoulders, LeBron focused more on other things the Lakers needed such as 3-point shooting, defense and rebounding. His increased effort in those other areas was noticeable and for arguably the greatest basketball player to accept that set a tone for the rest of the team that everyone must be willing to do whatever is necessary to win.
Obviously LeBron is in the latter stages of his career, which makes it a bit easier to accept a slightly lesser role, but he was still playing at an All-NBA level prior to the Doncic trade so him still expecting to be the lead guy would have been understandable. But James values winning above all else and whatever the Lakers needed he was going to give.
One player who epitomizes exactly what LeBron James is talking about is Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who just led his team to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance. And in the midst of his outstanding Game 5 performance, LeBron called out those who have been criticizing Haliburton.
Haliburton was labeled the NBA’s most overrated player in a recent anonymous player’s poll and the Lakers superstar called those people out during Haliburton’s 31-point performance, adding that the Pacers point guard is someone that every player would love to play with.
