LeBron James continues to demonstrate extremely impressive performance even though he is about to turn 39 years old.
He led the Los Angeles Lakers to the In-Season Tournament championship, and also took home the MVP (Best Player) title.
Not only that, LeBron James is currently averaging 25 points per game in the 2023/24 season.
According to NBA statistics, the highest average number of points scored by a player in the 21st season of his career is only 7.4 points/game
And LeBron James has 3 times more points than his record. Tournaments.
There are many reasons for LeBron James’s persistence despite entering the “minus” age of professional football players.
In particular, the fact that he received great support from his teammates is one of the biggest reasons that helps LeBron James save maximum energy in the 2023/24 season.
Statistics show that LeBron James is receiving huge support in the 2023/24 season.
According to NBA statistics, LeBron James had a total of 55.4% of scoring situations after receiving assists from teammates, in the first half of the 2023/24 season alone.
For other players, that may be a normal statistic. But for a player who is always at the heart of the team and often has to shoulder the responsibility of holding the ball, that is extremely impressive. Since entering the NBA in 2003, LeBron James has never received an assist rate of more than 47.3%. This number was set in LeBron James’ rookie season, when he was still inexperienced at the age of 19.
In the years that followed, LeBron James was always the one holding the ball to initiate attacks for the entire team. There were even many times when LeBron James was forced to play individually when his surrounding teammates were too frozen in their scoring role. In the 2019/20 season, LeBron James only scored 28.9% of his shots after receiving assists.
This is most clearly reflected in LeBron James’ 3-point shooting rate in the 2023/24 season, when he converted 40.7% of his 3-point shots into points. Not only is that the best performance of his entire career, but it also outperforms the average shooting rate of the top shooters in the NBA, even though LeBron James has never been considered a good 3-point shooter.
Not only does LeBron James have a high conversion rate, he also makes 3-point shots more often. According to statistics, more than 1/3 of LeBron James’ shots in the 2023/24 season are 3-point shots. Some came from his efforts to dribble and create opportunities himself, but more importantly, the majority of LeBron James’ 3-pointers were made from pure catch-n-shoot situations (receiving the ball and then throwing it). .
Normally, players who specialize in the catch-n-shoot role will be the secondary shooters in the lineup, taking on the role of running without the ball and making 3-point shots when needed. With the above statistics, it can be said that LeBron James is receiving more and more support from his teammates in the 2023/24 season.
This video is a prime example. Austin Reaves receives the ball at a 45-degree angle from the 3-point arc. Anthony Davis stepped forward to support the wall, putting the two men in a dangerous pick-n-roll position. Dallas Mavericks players responded by covering the duo’s scoring and passing options. Just waiting for that, Austin Reaves threw a pass to LeBron James that ended with a 3-point shot.
In previous seasons, fans often saw the opposite image, when LeBron James was the one holding the ball and passing it to the surrounding satellite players. Now, he can trust his teammates to hunt for space and wait for easy scoring situations.
Besides, the qualities that made LeBron James famous have not been lost due to age. When necessary, LeBron James can fully utilize his acceleration and strength to make a frontal breakthrough, scoring 2 points for the Lakers.
Not only that, starting to accelerate without the ball and receiving passes from teammates gives LeBron James an additional advantage in breakthroughs. The third video below is an example, when LeBron James suddenly accelerated, received a pass from D’Angelo Russell and immediately eliminated Zion Williamson, a 23-year-old player with no inferior physical condition, on the other side. behind and there is an easy basket situation.
Not only that, using a team with good shooting ability also helps LeBron James a lot. In fact, the Los Angeles Lakers often play with only one center forward, alternating between Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood. All 3 have the ability to threaten in mid-range shooting situations up to the 3-point line.
After that, the Lakers took advantage of the presence of Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell to create more space for LeBron James. Both have the ability to threaten at the 3-point line, opening up a lot of space for LeBron James to make breakthrough situations.
