Over the course of his illustrious 14-year career in the NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James has established himself as one of the all-time greats. The King’s list of accolades and achievements are longer than a country mile, and it looks like he isn’t finished yet.
What makes James such a great player, though? Everyone knows about his sheer size and brute strength. Sure, those physical attributes have helped his cause in a big way. However, what really sets The Kid from Akron apart is his unparalleled court vision.
In a recent episode of his podcast, The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe pointed out just how efficient James is at finding the open man in the corner.
“Here’s a stat: Kyrie Irving assisted on 57 corner three’s last year,” Lowe said in his podcast. “That’s tied with Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins. That’s like top-12 in the league. LeBron assisted on 162 (corner three’s). First of all, let’s take a moment to appreciate this. LeBron assisted on 162 corner three’s — number one in the league. Number two was (James) Harden, at 96. That’s the gap.”
There are some who might argue that the Cavs’ style of play suits Lowe’s stat, as Cleveland is known to be an efficient three-point shooting team. But remember, James is a small forward — not a point guard, not even a shooting guard. For him to finish with such a high number of assists to the corner store is truly remarkable, but he would probably just say that it’s part of his game — and it is.
Last season, James turned in some of the best statistical numbers of his career. In his 74 games played, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 Draft averaged 26.4 points on 55 percent shooting from the field, 8.7 assists (career-high), 8.6 rebounds (career-high), and 1.2 steals in 37.8 minutes per contest.
With no signs of slowing down, it seems the sky is the limit for James. Let’s just enjoy the ride.