Over the course of his illustrious 15-year career in the NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James has compiled an incredibly long list of achievements, including three championships, three Finals MVP’s, four regular season MVP awards, and 13 All-Star selections.
Without a doubt, James, now 32 years of age, will go down as one of the best basketball players in history. However, there is one aspect of his game that he would like to improve on before his time is up. In an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James revealed his desire to obtain an 80 percent average from the free-throw line.
“I want to shoot 80 [percent] from the free throw line, man,” James told McMenamin. “That’s my only goal. That’s my last goal of my NBA career. That’s my last one. I’ve done everything else.”
As most hoops fans know, James has struggled from the charity stripe at times. In fact, he shot just 67 percent from the free-throw line last season, although his career average is 74 percent. James’ best season at the free-throw line came during his 2008-09 campaign with the Cavs, when he knocked down 78 percent of his shots from the line. So far this season, he’s at 76 percent.
Kyle Korver, one of the best shooters of all-time, seems to think his teammate is setting the bar a bit low.
“Your last goal is 80?” Korver asked James on Tuesday, incredulously. He then issued a challenge: “50-40-90.”
For those who might not know the terminology Korver was referring to when he said “50-40-90,” it simply means 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from downtown, and 90 percent from the free-throw line. Only eight players in NBA history have achieved such a feat (Larry Bird, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Jose Calderon).
“I definitely got the 50,” James replied. “The 50 ain’t s—. I can shoot 50 in my sleep. I’m almost damn near 60. I can shoot 60.”
LeBron James has been on a tear through his first five games of the 2017-18 season. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 Draft is currently averaging 27.6 points on 61.1 percent shooting from the field (45 percent from beyond the arc), 9.0 assists, and 7.4 rebounds.
Let’s see if James can indeed meet Korver’s challenge.