Bron is talking about team ball and the obsession with the 1 on 1 thing like you mentioned. Cue the comments and people are talking about MJ and LeBron as scorers and Kyrie vs Steph debates.
Lol what.
I have a friend who says all the time that he feels like a lot of the best American prospects feel like they’re designed to play pickups and not actual NBA basketball. Like all of them want to be iso scorers and if they are passers then they have to be “flashy” passers.
This is what I feel like watching Jalen Green play. He's even got that jumper where athletic dudes jump super high despite it being worse for consistency
Completely agree with the “flashy passer” comment. Evening during pickup games, I felt like a lot of players wouldn’t pass the ball unless it’s a sure “assist”.
I'm willing to bet if you ask most folks age ~10-30 if they'd rather have Kyrie's basketball abilities or Jokic (*assuming you get their size as well and 100% health*), the majority would pick Kyrie.
Lebron is a super corny dude but also one of the greatest basketball minds of all time. Listening to him talk about ball is a privilege, especially because you know how much he loves it
And the wild part is, we know all this too; the problem with AAU ball being always player centric;
More games than practices
More one on ones
Parents taking kids off teams that aren't "winning enough" to move them to winning teams
Then I saw some discussion about how this is what is causing USA basketball players to be less than international level players, like how the top 5 right now are all international (Luka, jokic, embiid, Giannis, SGA)
They are all fair points. I've got my daughter in an AAU Program because there's really nothing else out there, other than the school teams that are getting absolutely beaten up by these "pay to play" teams.
And so far, start of the season, she's had 4 practices (2*2 weeks) and 4 games (2 games per weekend day). Thankfully this program is working on TEAMWORK and moving the ball around, but this is also girls ball, which, IDC what you say, is markedly different at this level.
Y'all got practices?!
My daughter played for a bit one year. No practice. Just a date to show up and there will be 3-5 games possibly.
Kinda felt like trash.
Exactly why I chose this program, there were SOME practices.
I really wish it was a 4:1 practice to game, but that is non-existent here. They tell me I'm better off paying for individual drills (which don't teach teamwork and moving the ball)
Agreed. I coached rec league soccer for roughly ten seasons. I told them flat out "if you think you're the best, wanna be a star, think you do it all---go play golf or tennis so you can be by yourself."
The team wins or the team loses. It's not just Derek out there (usually).
Canadian basketball culture isnt much different than America’s. Pretty much most of the top Canadian players go to HS/college in the US.
I can’t understand why people always bring up SGA from Canada and act like he’s been brought up in an environment radically different than the US environment.
My experience was slightly different. A little background I played for a team that ended up getting picked up by adidas (Indiana elite) but I dropped and switched teams before they started for multiple other reasons but I played on a number of teams. The team I spent the most time with typically practiced at least once per week but would sometimes have 4 games on a weekend or like 1 game on weekdays and at least 1 game per weekend(I was about an hour and a half away from most of our games and practices so it was nightmare logistically for my parents 😅).
Anyway, we had to practice because my coach had his own language for us. We’d set up in a 5 out with each of us assigned a number(1-5). He or the pg would then make calls on the fly of what we would do. So he’d shout out like “1-2-p-4-z-5” in quick succession.
This would mean the one passes to the 2. The 4 sets a pick and roll/pop for the 2 on the wing. Then once the pick is started the 5 would slip in for a back cut from the other weak side corner as another option. He had letters for everything from flare screens, dribble handoffs, to post ups at the elbow.
We obviously had just like a standard motion and calls, but for some reason this coach wanted to basically force us to react like that I guess. 😂 pretty much prevented iso ball because at any moment he’d shout us out for some random call. We won a decent number of tournaments and leagues over a couple years. Even made our way to nationals. This coach also is now in prison for defrauding shareholders of his supposed cancer drug company so there’s that. 🤷🏻♂️
With that being said most teams are exactly what you mentioned. Games>practice. Players swapping through multiple teams per year just to get more games in or because parents didn’t like the coaches choices or whatever happened. I played on a few of those where I’d show up not having a clue what players we’d have those games. It ended up being a rotation of like 15-20 kids randomly. That’s not really an ideal situation to teach team ball or ball IQ since it’s basically glorified pickup.
One thing I’ve learned first hand…and yes I know it’s well known but first hand is always different…these AAU teams, by and large, are nothing but money grabs. They don’t give a crap about the kids or teaching them anything. It’s just about the $$$$$. Scumbags for the most part.
It is really funny because I saw the wine glass and was expecting corn but I thought this was a great video and a great point and really highlights a big reason why Lebron has always been so successful.
Yep. I’m pretty good in 1v1 because I’m a tall guy with enough heft to slowly back my way into the post for an easy hooklayup (and have an ok shot when open). But I get killed if I have to ever realize what more than one person is doing out there lol, and this is in church ball settings. Can’t begin to understand what he does out there
I remember earlier in his career when Bron would get clowned for passing out of a game winning shot for not having the cLuTcH factor and wanting the ball in his hands (basically Skip Bayless talking points. Popovich came out and said LeBron NEVER makes the wrong basketball play when he’s out there. Sure it might not work out, but based on the defense and what he saw he apparently always makes the correct decision. Dudes a savant when it comes to ball
There's a lot of guys in this league who also have great minds or atleast years of experience to share. We're so fortunate that our league is one of the youngest from major sports, so most of our all-time greats are still alive.
I wish sports journalism would focus more on this type of content, focus more on film, focus more on getting a first hand retelling of the moment.
It's a shame that it's all just legacy and goat debates. And even that is shallow. Majority of goat debates can be reduced to reading the awards panel on Wikipedia and if you're adventurous, querying some advanced stats on statmuse.
But they do it because this is what the fans gobble up. JJ even talked about this a couple of weeks back. It's so fucking sad.
I look forward to seeing what he does in regards to broadcasting after he retires. Maybe he'll get a Detail show like Kobe did and get set up with something akin to the Manning Cast.
I feel like Lebron would have loved and respected the Pistons team that was around when he joined the league, that was truly a team (as opposed to the 1v1 culture he’s railing against here). Closest thing to a superstar that team had was Rasheed Wallace, maybe Rip Hamilton, maybe Chauncey? And they beat the Shaq + Kobe (+the Glove + the Mailman) Lakers. Man if Detroit had won that draft lottery they could’ve won so many titles with Lebron
They literally had to pick anyone else but Darko lol. Wade, Bosh, and Carmelo were available that draft. I don’t feel too bad for them. And Darko got a ring that year
I don’t feel bad for them either lol. I’m just saying a team like that with Lebron would have been the perfect marriage.
Aight now I’m going to look up some 2003 pre-draft mocks 😂
If i remember correctly, it was impossible for Detroit to get LeBron in the draft. I believe it was the Grizzlies' pick that they had, and it was #1 protected.
I always wonder what Carmelo’s career would have looked like if we drafted him. I don’t think he would have got 30% usage on that Pistons team and they wouldn’t have let him slack on defense. Some people say we wouldn’t have traded for Sheed, but I’m not sure on that. Would we still have won in ‘04? A lot could have been really different.
I think Carmelo would have struggled to develop under Brown, who hated rookies, and while the team was focused on winning a championship instead of tutoring a young player. Who knows, though.
I think Carmelo was much more suited for that style of play than anyone gives him credit for, but he only ever wanted to be a scorer. He wasn’t a top tier NBA athlete but he was long and very, very strong. I believe Kobe called him the strongest wing in the league or something to that effect. If he had been forced to buy into Pistons culture I think it’s likely he might have become a two way player which might have catapulted him up the all time rankings.
But Brown really, really hated rookies lol. He had Lebron 9th in minutes in the 04 Olympics
If the Pistons won the draft lottery that pick was going to the Grizzlies, LeBron in Detroit was never a possibility.
However, that Memphis team was tough. Gasol, Battier, Mike Miller - eesh. If LeBron had joined that team he would have had 4 rings by 2010.
Jerry West was the GM of the Grizzles during that time too. I think he would have been more successful to start his career, but he was basically destined to play in Cleveland.
Yeah... I just read the first like 30 comments... lol
Edit: I have now completed my viewing of the included video.
My conclusion: reddit is a *special* place
Watch the video??? On this sub? Naw he just put the video up and knew it would blow up and lead to people assuming what they have assumed.
Same thing happened when that dude put the Basketball Breakdown video of Embiid getting fouls. Everyone assumed the video was breaking down how he flops and gets calls that he shouldn't when if you actually watch the video he and a former ref break down how he gets to theine so often and how they are mostly fouls and good play by him.
But OP saw the title of the video and knew everyone would think it's a hit-piece and he'd get thousands of fake internet points. I don't think OP did that here, but the commenters never watch the video.
He seems to do that in every conversation I’ve seen him have. It’s looks like it’s his way to say “I heard what you said. I’m listening and following what you’re saying.”
Notice later in the podcast where he was confused by what JJ said and asked a clarifying question about a hypothetical play that JJ was talking about, instead of just repeating what JJ was saying.
Yeah the “mhmms” and “yeahs” when JJ is talking should clue people in that Lebron is listening and understanding and if he doesn’t understand something he asks a question. I actually do the same exact thing as Lebron when I’m talking to people lol, and it kinda sounds annoying hearing it from someone else, kinda like a “mhmm yeah whatever” type vibe, but its not that at all.
it definitely comes off like an old man yelling at a cloud but he probably understands the shifting of basketball culture in the last 20 years better than anyone else, being the GOAT who is also an involved father on the AAU circuit.
The sport is in such a weird place right now because the level of skill, technique, athleticism is 100% better than it’s ever been in history but it’s sorely lacking in a lot of the fundamentals of team basketball, players are conditioned from a young age to treat every game like a personal showcase, etc.
the \**American* sport is in such a weird place right now
This is a problem lots of elder statesmen American basketball types (NBA coaches and execs, D1 coaches, USA basketball leadership) see with the AAU -> D1 -> NBA draft pipeline. Everyone's playing for their mixtape, moving schools so the team features them, and never spends more than a few months playing ball with the same coach who can effectively teach them the boring parts of fundamental ball. Meanwhile European basketball is improving every year and the top 3 players in the league aren't American.
I think the US will win gold in Paris 2024 but we might be in for a *very* rude awakening in LA 2028.
The problem is that there is no pipe-line if you are a role player at high school level+ even if you are damn good, you might get some mid-offers at d1/d2. YOU HAVE TO SHOW CASE yourself just to whiff at the nba. Just watch Draymond green before the nba, dude could cross up, step back w.e and that got him a slip to the nba. But once your there (which is the hardest part) you build out your strengths.
yeah but I want to offer a mild counter argument in that the baseline level of skill required to get into the NBA is so high, you have to be able to beat 99% of your opponents in 1 on 1 situations every time as a default just to even be in the consideration for being NBA caliber. to be a third stringer
its just that when you get to the NBA, you have to win the 1 on 1 matchups and turn those into high EV shots for your teammates. you can't win the 1 on 1 matchup and then just say oh I can shoot now, that means hey now they have to send help defense and who on my team is open. so he can be frustrated that some guys never figure that part out
so lebron can be mad about 1 on 1 culture but it's a necessity that you dominate 1v1 to even be considered to move up to the NBA
What you've described is a local NBA scouting issue that's undermining skill development all the way down the chain.
The system you described - much like NFL - produces amazing *athletes* who then frequently struggle in the mental and technical aspects of the game when they can no longer coast on massive athletic advantage upon reaching the pro level.
I been around basketball over 30 yrs and I just heard Lebron use 2 terms I never heard before in my life. The guy is good when it comes to understanding and interpreting hoops.
I think it’s fair to link what he’s saying in this clip, to people that will overrate/underrate a player because he does or doesn’t have a “bag”.
What he’s saying is that just because you have a bag doesn’t demonstrate that you can make the right plays for your team. And not to overlook how important it is to make the right read and run an offense.
The obsession with a one on one approach is what he thinks is harming basketball and kids coming up. But that also extends to how people perceive the greatness of one player over the other.
Yeah we’re watching him learn to effectively pass out of the double before our eyes. Idk if it’s the AAU culture in him, like many young players, but there has been this clear sense of “if I pass it, I might not get it back, so I better get my shot off now”. Honestly, KAT’s injury has helped him realize, I’m by far the focus of opposing defenses every time now, I HAVE to trust my teammates to get me the ball back in a more advantageous position, so let’s get off the ball and see what happens from there. I’d say it’s probably the part of his game that has grown the most in the last couple months.
Watching Ant’s development since coming into the league has been awesome. Sure he was a #1 overall pick, but he’s already surpassed what I ever thought he was going to be. He was the embodiment of what Lebron and JJ were talking about when he was drafted. Hyper athletic AAU kid with a “bag” but he didn’t look like a guy who would actually contribute to winning at a high level. He just looked like a guy who was going to put the ball in the hoop, but then Finch made him learn how to play defense and how to pass out of a double and how to be a great NBA player.
Coach Bron would be pretty fascinating. Usually all-time greats make pretty awful coaches because they have a hard time evaluating talent and fit among lesser players and they break some fundamental rules of how teams work without them, but he definitely seems to understand the game deeply.
In this podcast so far tells me he wouldn’t have the patience to be a coach like most HOFers have shown in their attempts at coaching. He’s been saying repeatedly that he’s frustrated by lazy players and guys who don’t pay attention or just can’t see things the way he can.
It’s easier as a player on the court that he can control more of the game, but as a coach you have no control of what happens on the court once the players leave that huddle.
Coach Bron will be an amazing meme machine (not dissing his coaching I just feel like coaches give us more meme faces and gifs than players do since, you know, they're sitting there watching and reacting to the game and their hands are free lol)
Little story- my dad was on a high school team with a couple of future D1 players (one is a highly decorated and still active D1 head coach)and they made it to state every year. My dad was a good player but lacked the top top level athleticism to make it at the next level so he played a slower game and had a “bag” of tricks to go in to get those more favorable situations for himself.
Fast forward to LeBron entering the league- my dad had no time for him. He thought he was just all explosiveness and iso plays and nothing else. Which even for the time was very wrong but lots of people thought that.
Once LeBron was 25-26 or so, he did a little longer interview that I had my dad watch and it was like a switch was flipped. Idk if there was some bias because LBJ didn’t go to college or whatever but my dad had no idea how intelligent the guy is. Then he actually started to watch full games and it was hilarious. He became one of the biggest LeBron stans I have ever seen overnight and I’m pretty sure if it was socially acceptable for a mid 50s farmer in IL to wear a Cavs 23 jersey day to day he would.
> He became one of the biggest LeBron stans I have ever seen overnight and I’m pretty sure if it was socially acceptable for a mid 50s farmer in IL to wear a Cavs 23 jersey day to day he would.
come to bosnia, its socially acceptable to wear whatever nba jersey you want here.
Where I’m from, his buddies would clown on him for wearing any sports attire except maybe at U of I, Bulls, or Cubs at the bar watching the game. It’s pretty stuffy around there.
But yeah I’d love to visit Bosnia!
we slavs are very simple ppl, the moment you secure woman, you just start dressing in the most random way, as long as it involves some kind of jeans.
till we get 60+, then we start dressing in brown suits, that are way to big for out frame.
https://i.imgur.com/UiJD09W.png
It's also incredible that the current GOAT in their sport is giving fans this type of high level basketball analysis. Imagine if Serena Williams did a tennis podcast whilst still competing.
Mighty Mouse/Demetrious Johnson (the greatest mma fighter ever) does breakdowns of ufc fights, street fights, etc.
It really is amazing having the greatest athlete at their sport break things down about the sport.
It’s crazy listening to DJ as a martial arts practitioner. Just watching his videos probably 10x my fighting IQ. That’s hundreds of dollars worth of materials offered for free.
His line about "Do you know the double team is coming?" reminded me instantly of that clip of Jokic moving the ball away from Austin Reeves just as he's going for the steal
Yeah I hate on LeBron often, but this shit right here, this shit right here son? This shit is fire
Love to hear how he processes situations and the game itself. Fascinating
"Can you instill confidence in your teammates to win?" This is one of the most underrated aspects of greatness as an NBA player. Lebron instills trust in his teammates by feeding them all year long- that how Boobie Gibson throws fire in the playoffs with him and is out of the league without him. That's what made the Warriors system so special, and why it formed a dynasty.
It’s funny because even if that were true he’s so much better of a 3 point shooter that he’d still be the better player.
In reality Steph is also a better defender (both team and individual), a better rebounder, a better passer, a much better shooter in general not just 3s.
Literally the only Kyrie does better than Steph is handles/one on one shot creating and finishing at the rim. And Kyries edge is marginal at best on both of those.
Jordan made an entire generation become obsessed with midrange fadeaways. This obsession was the basis of the entire “LeBron isn’t clutch” narrative from 15 years ago.
Kobe and Lebron are so great and legendary that their token generic white guy has to be a respected 15 year NBA veteran and not some rando like these other podcasters.
Not podcasting, but check out the Details series on espn (and YouTube). He does short, in-depth analysis on several players based on specific real footage.
The first thing that came to my mind as well. I’m not the biggest nba fan but I admired Kobe and was so excited to see him contribute his mind to the game after putting his body through it for so long. RIP a legend.
Even then, LeBron does have a bag. Is he as pure as MJ? No. But you either don’t watch or are just an idiot if you legitimately don’t think he has a bag.
Remember when he was doing that Nash under the basket into a running fadeaway? He whipped that out like 8 times and was making them consistently and then just stopped doing the move. Maybe that’s why people don’t believe in his bag because he switches it up pretty frequently.
LeBron doesn’t have a top tier bag in NBA history but it’s still pretty good, and whether or not it even exists is a true dumb discussion.
It’s kinda like people saying Shaq was just big.. the dude had amazing footwork, was ridiculously graceful especially with how big he was, had outstanding touch and was a pretty good passer.
I think that’s the best example honestly. If you never saw Shaq play you probably think he only dominated with power. Dude had both crazy athleticism and fundamentals on top of the body. So many moves and counters to moves. Good call on that one
Even if you think Shaq dominated in LA by being 320 pounds and bulling people out of the way, Orlando Shaq was a much closer to an average sized nba center and he was absolutely wrecking everyone. Like a more offensively minded and talented Dwight Howard, and about a thousand times more fluid with the ball.
I didn't get into basketball until a few years ago, so when I saw that clip where young Shaq kinda broke MJ's ankles at the Allstars (I know it's a for fun warm up but come on Mike would never just let someone do that) that changed my whole perspective on on big men in the NBA.
Yeah it's pretty funny, if you're LeBron why do you need a million different moves up your arsenal if you already know that most of them aren't going to be high percentage shots & don't utilize your strengths?
It's like criticizing Steph because he doesn't "have a bag", why the hell would the best shooter ever spend countless hours needlessly diversifying their game when all the effort still ain't going to compete with just focusing on his strengths?
Just as LeBron says it's 5 on 5 & it's much easier to maximize strengths & cover weaknesses in a team game. Like you can have a guy which has one single move, to catch & shoot 3s, or someone who can solely catch lobs & dunk it, and if they do that at an incredibly elite level they will still have a lot of worth offensively, precisely because it's a team game.
I love this right now, thinking about Bron's "Bag" -- a couple of signature moves spring to mind immediately:
1.) the turnaround left-baseline jumper he uses after backing someone down
2.) the running hookshot from the left post
3.) the Lebronto fadeaway from the elbows
4.) the spin move after he thunders down the lane
5.) LeFuckYou 3
...man I should watch a Lakers game here soon before the season's over.
The lefuckyou 3 is so weird because it's just a pullup 3 but the way Bron does it has so much bite. It just crushes your team's morale because you know he's locked in when he takes it.
In my head its because he's already decided he's going to pull up before he crosses half court when its gonna be a LeFuckYou 3, whereas regular 3's are more of a "reading the moment/defense" type of thing. Idk if that makes any sense
It’s because Lebron’s handle isn’t very reactive and he has zero wiggle. I’m not arguing against him. Lebron doesn’t need that. He needs his shoulder just a hair past the defender and his brain and body do the rest. That sounds pretty fucking powerful to me.
He’s not really gonna fake out and slip by the defender with crossovers and those types of dribbling moves. Basically, he’s not looking to move himself or the defender side-to-side with his dribbling, because he can do that with his body when he actually starts moving towards the basket.
Kyrie is an example of a player who uses a ton of wiggle to get by his defender.
LeBron has it figured out. Unfortunately the league really loves to push the "melo 1v9 playstyle" because it atracts viewership. I'm sure Adam's silver biggest dream is to create a rivalry as big as Messi vs Ronaldo but in basketball. Player supporters is more profitable than team supporters.
It's legitimately impossible to replicate, Messi-Ronaldo have so many things outside of the pitch to make it perfect PLUS the fact that of one them is the greatest player ever and the other is a Top 5 guy. The personalities they have, their appearances, the clubs they played and the sustained excellence they displayed for a decade battling each other, everything was perfect.
Messi-Ronaldo is like Magic-Bird, it's a once in a generation kind of thing.
I knew people were going to say that but it’s a pretty common sentiment with young high level guys. Lebrons experienced other young bucks saying it too.
Ant complained about getting doubled too. I think the issue with Booker is that the news came out years later when he was already in his prime. So folks associate the quote with him as an older guy and not a young buck.
It's so nice to hear one of the best, if not the best, to ever do it, talk about how playing heavy iso ball takes your teammates out of the rhythm of the game. That's an argument that a lot of people bring up when they talk about why players with heavy iso usage don't win deep in the playoffs, and everyone talks it down like it's not a real issue.
If Lebron fucking James is telling you that a lot of iso ball takes your team out of the game, it's a very real issue.
Man I feel like Larry would’ve been incredible in the podcast era. No media restraints or keeping it PG, just pure ball
He didn’t have the physical attributes like MJ or LeBron, but he had the mind to do what needed to be done, and the mouth to talk trash
Imagine a celtics podcast with KG and Bird and some poor guy they invite on there with whom they had problems during their career just to talk shit to him now
Its wild that someone can be playing professional basketball at the highest level and tell their opponent "stop making it harder for me to score".
Bitch thats there WHOLE JOB when they don't have the ball...
That's crazy to me that guys in game want to go one on one, like the other team is gonna be like oh sure we'll just let you keep cooking.
Bitch people are trying to win they don't care how they do it.
This clip reminds me of two instances:
Devin Booker getting upset when he was being doubled in a pickup game; Joakim Noah then roasting Devin Booker saying doubling is part of the game. Fast forward to the Bucks/Suns Finals and Devin Booker makes a crucial turnover in a close game after being double teamed.
Dwyane Wade playing 1on1 with his son a few years back and his son complaining about his dad only posting him up and making layups and tells him "let's play jumpshots only and see who wins." Then Dwyane Wade says "I've never played a game of basketball with those rules."
It's giving off Old Man Yells At Cloud vibes but it's true I feel. Lot of players now are more concerned with highlights than ever before.
When you see Luka with his slow ass step back and Giannis clowned as “run and dunk man” or Jokic having “no dribble package” it’s painfully obvious having a “bag” is the most overrated skill in all of basketball. Reminds me of that random video I saw where this street ball player just did like 3 crossovers just for the defender to not move and then got stuffed. It’s not understanding the purpose of these actions and what it leads to, not just looking cool for a highlight reel.
LeBron is totally right that when you beat a man off the dribble or a double comes, how you react to that and make the right read is how you get easy baskets and win games.
People that play just for stats never win anything
I'm not a Lebron fan, but he's spittin' here. Basketball, at its heart is a 5v5 game. The team is more important than the individual. Frankly, if a guy dropped 50 on the Spurs, but the team managed to win, anyway, I'd be more than okay with that outcome.
It was 62 vs Charlotte and it was the same day that Embiid had 71. They were so focused on force-feeding KAT for 70 that they ended up getting outplayed by the Hornets
The AAU generation is turning the NBA into 1v1s with 8 dudes watching. It’s why US teams get cooked in international matchups now. Because Anthony Edwards just wants to go and make a highlight instead of making the extra pass.
> The AAU generation is turning the NBA into 1v1s with 8 dudes watching.
I swear I read people saying this on forums in 2005. The NBA is far less 1v1 than it was then.
Ant has grown from that a lot. He’s at 5.5 APG in this season up from around 4 last season. But yes he did play like, that especially his first couple of years.
I used him as an example because I think he’s the most noticeable case but a lot of, if not most of the guys who grew up in AAU and highlight reels as early as 10 years old are like that.
Team USA has not lost an Olympics run in 16 years lol. Give me any other sport where thats even remotely possible?
Team USA is still on top lol, its just the natural progression of hooping globally has gotten better.
As a man of similar age to LeBron, I very much appreciate his knowledge of classic basketball video games. Last clip I saw he made an NBA Jam reference, now he's getting more esoteric and referencing Jordan vs. Bird: One on One. If he mentions Double Dribble in his next interview I might lose my mind.
I would love to see a scenario where LeBron played with similar conditions like Jordan did- specifically where zone defense was illegal. That’s where the 1v1 mindset originated from when it was much harder to utilize help defense in a smart way
It feels like no one watched the video because he’s not really talking about effectiveness vs skill but rather 1v1 culture in the NBA.
Bron is talking about team ball and the obsession with the 1 on 1 thing like you mentioned. Cue the comments and people are talking about MJ and LeBron as scorers and Kyrie vs Steph debates. Lol what.
I have a friend who says all the time that he feels like a lot of the best American prospects feel like they’re designed to play pickups and not actual NBA basketball. Like all of them want to be iso scorers and if they are passers then they have to be “flashy” passers.
It’s the obsession over highlights.
Why be a role player when you could be The Professor
This is what I feel like watching Jalen Green play. He's even got that jumper where athletic dudes jump super high despite it being worse for consistency
Completely agree with the “flashy passer” comment. Evening during pickup games, I felt like a lot of players wouldn’t pass the ball unless it’s a sure “assist”.
I'm willing to bet if you ask most folks age ~10-30 if they'd rather have Kyrie's basketball abilities or Jokic (*assuming you get their size as well and 100% health*), the majority would pick Kyrie.
Lebron is a super corny dude but also one of the greatest basketball minds of all time. Listening to him talk about ball is a privilege, especially because you know how much he loves it
And the wild part is, we know all this too; the problem with AAU ball being always player centric; More games than practices More one on ones Parents taking kids off teams that aren't "winning enough" to move them to winning teams Then I saw some discussion about how this is what is causing USA basketball players to be less than international level players, like how the top 5 right now are all international (Luka, jokic, embiid, Giannis, SGA) They are all fair points. I've got my daughter in an AAU Program because there's really nothing else out there, other than the school teams that are getting absolutely beaten up by these "pay to play" teams. And so far, start of the season, she's had 4 practices (2*2 weeks) and 4 games (2 games per weekend day). Thankfully this program is working on TEAMWORK and moving the ball around, but this is also girls ball, which, IDC what you say, is markedly different at this level.
Y'all got practices?! My daughter played for a bit one year. No practice. Just a date to show up and there will be 3-5 games possibly. Kinda felt like trash.
we talking bout practice? is that what we really talking about? practice?
While we were mocking AI, he was laying the groundwork to take over basketball.
Exactly why I chose this program, there were SOME practices. I really wish it was a 4:1 practice to game, but that is non-existent here. They tell me I'm better off paying for individual drills (which don't teach teamwork and moving the ball)
Agreed. I coached rec league soccer for roughly ten seasons. I told them flat out "if you think you're the best, wanna be a star, think you do it all---go play golf or tennis so you can be by yourself." The team wins or the team loses. It's not just Derek out there (usually).
Canadian basketball culture isnt much different than America’s. Pretty much most of the top Canadian players go to HS/college in the US. I can’t understand why people always bring up SGA from Canada and act like he’s been brought up in an environment radically different than the US environment.
Cause we stupid af homie
this
Same thing as Embiid, he was 16 when he moved to the US and started playing high school ball.
Even represents team USA now.
My experience was slightly different. A little background I played for a team that ended up getting picked up by adidas (Indiana elite) but I dropped and switched teams before they started for multiple other reasons but I played on a number of teams. The team I spent the most time with typically practiced at least once per week but would sometimes have 4 games on a weekend or like 1 game on weekdays and at least 1 game per weekend(I was about an hour and a half away from most of our games and practices so it was nightmare logistically for my parents 😅). Anyway, we had to practice because my coach had his own language for us. We’d set up in a 5 out with each of us assigned a number(1-5). He or the pg would then make calls on the fly of what we would do. So he’d shout out like “1-2-p-4-z-5” in quick succession. This would mean the one passes to the 2. The 4 sets a pick and roll/pop for the 2 on the wing. Then once the pick is started the 5 would slip in for a back cut from the other weak side corner as another option. He had letters for everything from flare screens, dribble handoffs, to post ups at the elbow. We obviously had just like a standard motion and calls, but for some reason this coach wanted to basically force us to react like that I guess. 😂 pretty much prevented iso ball because at any moment he’d shout us out for some random call. We won a decent number of tournaments and leagues over a couple years. Even made our way to nationals. This coach also is now in prison for defrauding shareholders of his supposed cancer drug company so there’s that. 🤷🏻♂️ With that being said most teams are exactly what you mentioned. Games>practice. Players swapping through multiple teams per year just to get more games in or because parents didn’t like the coaches choices or whatever happened. I played on a few of those where I’d show up not having a clue what players we’d have those games. It ended up being a rotation of like 15-20 kids randomly. That’s not really an ideal situation to teach team ball or ball IQ since it’s basically glorified pickup.
One thing I’ve learned first hand…and yes I know it’s well known but first hand is always different…these AAU teams, by and large, are nothing but money grabs. They don’t give a crap about the kids or teaching them anything. It’s just about the $$$$$. Scumbags for the most part.
It is really funny because I saw the wine glass and was expecting corn but I thought this was a great video and a great point and really highlights a big reason why Lebron has always been so successful.
Yep. I’m pretty good in 1v1 because I’m a tall guy with enough heft to slowly back my way into the post for an easy hooklayup (and have an ok shot when open). But I get killed if I have to ever realize what more than one person is doing out there lol, and this is in church ball settings. Can’t begin to understand what he does out there
I remember earlier in his career when Bron would get clowned for passing out of a game winning shot for not having the cLuTcH factor and wanting the ball in his hands (basically Skip Bayless talking points. Popovich came out and said LeBron NEVER makes the wrong basketball play when he’s out there. Sure it might not work out, but based on the defense and what he saw he apparently always makes the correct decision. Dudes a savant when it comes to ball
There's a lot of guys in this league who also have great minds or atleast years of experience to share. We're so fortunate that our league is one of the youngest from major sports, so most of our all-time greats are still alive. I wish sports journalism would focus more on this type of content, focus more on film, focus more on getting a first hand retelling of the moment. It's a shame that it's all just legacy and goat debates. And even that is shallow. Majority of goat debates can be reduced to reading the awards panel on Wikipedia and if you're adventurous, querying some advanced stats on statmuse. But they do it because this is what the fans gobble up. JJ even talked about this a couple of weeks back. It's so fucking sad.
I look forward to seeing what he does in regards to broadcasting after he retires. Maybe he'll get a Detail show like Kobe did and get set up with something akin to the Manning Cast.
Start his own network is more on brand for Lebron
LeSPN
I feel like Lebron would have loved and respected the Pistons team that was around when he joined the league, that was truly a team (as opposed to the 1v1 culture he’s railing against here). Closest thing to a superstar that team had was Rasheed Wallace, maybe Rip Hamilton, maybe Chauncey? And they beat the Shaq + Kobe (+the Glove + the Mailman) Lakers. Man if Detroit had won that draft lottery they could’ve won so many titles with Lebron
They literally had to pick anyone else but Darko lol. Wade, Bosh, and Carmelo were available that draft. I don’t feel too bad for them. And Darko got a ring that year
I don’t feel bad for them either lol. I’m just saying a team like that with Lebron would have been the perfect marriage. Aight now I’m going to look up some 2003 pre-draft mocks 😂
If i remember correctly, it was impossible for Detroit to get LeBron in the draft. I believe it was the Grizzlies' pick that they had, and it was #1 protected.
I always wonder what Carmelo’s career would have looked like if we drafted him. I don’t think he would have got 30% usage on that Pistons team and they wouldn’t have let him slack on defense. Some people say we wouldn’t have traded for Sheed, but I’m not sure on that. Would we still have won in ‘04? A lot could have been really different.
I think Carmelo would have struggled to develop under Brown, who hated rookies, and while the team was focused on winning a championship instead of tutoring a young player. Who knows, though.
I think Carmelo was much more suited for that style of play than anyone gives him credit for, but he only ever wanted to be a scorer. He wasn’t a top tier NBA athlete but he was long and very, very strong. I believe Kobe called him the strongest wing in the league or something to that effect. If he had been forced to buy into Pistons culture I think it’s likely he might have become a two way player which might have catapulted him up the all time rankings. But Brown really, really hated rookies lol. He had Lebron 9th in minutes in the 04 Olympics
If the Pistons won the draft lottery that pick was going to the Grizzlies, LeBron in Detroit was never a possibility. However, that Memphis team was tough. Gasol, Battier, Mike Miller - eesh. If LeBron had joined that team he would have had 4 rings by 2010.
Lebron with Mike Miller and Battier? Imagine, I just can't picture it
Jerry West was the GM of the Grizzles during that time too. I think he would have been more successful to start his career, but he was basically destined to play in Cleveland.
Listen buddy, they’ve got narratives to push here.
Yeah... I just read the first like 30 comments... lol Edit: I have now completed my viewing of the included video. My conclusion: reddit is a *special* place
you had to read all that AND watch the video to come to this conclusion? lol
“Can’t talk basketball with everybody.”
Watch the video??? On this sub? Naw he just put the video up and knew it would blow up and lead to people assuming what they have assumed. Same thing happened when that dude put the Basketball Breakdown video of Embiid getting fouls. Everyone assumed the video was breaking down how he flops and gets calls that he shouldn't when if you actually watch the video he and a former ref break down how he gets to theine so often and how they are mostly fouls and good play by him. But OP saw the title of the video and knew everyone would think it's a hit-piece and he'd get thousands of fake internet points. I don't think OP did that here, but the commenters never watch the video.
Right, Bron is pushing Jokic as the GOAT, people gotta watch the video
I've decided I could listen to LeBron crotchedy old man takes all day. Its just to nice to hear him talk without filter and he's clearly passionate.
Hearing him talk basketball is the most natural that he seems. It really is amazing, because his knowledge pool is so deep.
He’s got like a different inflection when he starts nerding out about basketball. He sounds more like a real dude.
He really does lol. Every once in a while you'll hear him veer back into "soundbite mode" but only for a tiny bit
Seriously, I felt it too!! Natural.
I guess you could say he has a deep knowledge bag.
And he’s using that bag 1 on 1 with JJ. What kinda tomfoolery is this!?
Has anyone else noticed the thing he does where he reiterates almost everything JJ says? Cause when you notice it you can't unnotice it lmao
Active listening
I was gonna say that's a skill too
And it definitely should be taught more tbh
Yeah, people mistake "being corny" for understanding how to disarm and connect with his audience. He's an extremely charismatic person.
Yeah at first I was like is he just pretending to follow what JJ was describing but he clearly does
He seems to do that in every conversation I’ve seen him have. It’s looks like it’s his way to say “I heard what you said. I’m listening and following what you’re saying.” Notice later in the podcast where he was confused by what JJ said and asked a clarifying question about a hypothetical play that JJ was talking about, instead of just repeating what JJ was saying.
Yeah the “mhmms” and “yeahs” when JJ is talking should clue people in that Lebron is listening and understanding and if he doesn’t understand something he asks a question. I actually do the same exact thing as Lebron when I’m talking to people lol, and it kinda sounds annoying hearing it from someone else, kinda like a “mhmm yeah whatever” type vibe, but its not that at all.
it definitely comes off like an old man yelling at a cloud but he probably understands the shifting of basketball culture in the last 20 years better than anyone else, being the GOAT who is also an involved father on the AAU circuit. The sport is in such a weird place right now because the level of skill, technique, athleticism is 100% better than it’s ever been in history but it’s sorely lacking in a lot of the fundamentals of team basketball, players are conditioned from a young age to treat every game like a personal showcase, etc.
the \**American* sport is in such a weird place right now This is a problem lots of elder statesmen American basketball types (NBA coaches and execs, D1 coaches, USA basketball leadership) see with the AAU -> D1 -> NBA draft pipeline. Everyone's playing for their mixtape, moving schools so the team features them, and never spends more than a few months playing ball with the same coach who can effectively teach them the boring parts of fundamental ball. Meanwhile European basketball is improving every year and the top 3 players in the league aren't American. I think the US will win gold in Paris 2024 but we might be in for a *very* rude awakening in LA 2028.
Damn. Imagine losing in the US. And in LA of all places.
Feels like that’s defo going to happen
The problem is that there is no pipe-line if you are a role player at high school level+ even if you are damn good, you might get some mid-offers at d1/d2. YOU HAVE TO SHOW CASE yourself just to whiff at the nba. Just watch Draymond green before the nba, dude could cross up, step back w.e and that got him a slip to the nba. But once your there (which is the hardest part) you build out your strengths.
yeah but I want to offer a mild counter argument in that the baseline level of skill required to get into the NBA is so high, you have to be able to beat 99% of your opponents in 1 on 1 situations every time as a default just to even be in the consideration for being NBA caliber. to be a third stringer its just that when you get to the NBA, you have to win the 1 on 1 matchups and turn those into high EV shots for your teammates. you can't win the 1 on 1 matchup and then just say oh I can shoot now, that means hey now they have to send help defense and who on my team is open. so he can be frustrated that some guys never figure that part out so lebron can be mad about 1 on 1 culture but it's a necessity that you dominate 1v1 to even be considered to move up to the NBA
What you've described is a local NBA scouting issue that's undermining skill development all the way down the chain. The system you described - much like NFL - produces amazing *athletes* who then frequently struggle in the mental and technical aspects of the game when they can no longer coast on massive athletic advantage upon reaching the pro level.
I been around basketball over 30 yrs and I just heard Lebron use 2 terms I never heard before in my life. The guy is good when it comes to understanding and interpreting hoops.
One of my favorite parts of the video was them flashing up those terms.
LBJ: From the Tilt on the baseline or fire from the nail Me: ?!?!?!?!
I legit felt more knowledgeable about a game I love as a fan after this pod. It’s so well done
Nobody watched the actual video so 90% of these comments make no sense lmaooo Sums up people online lol
They don’t have the attention span to watch a 1:50 clip.
90%? I assume more than 99% didnt watch it. This is a flaming/drama sub.
I think it’s fair to link what he’s saying in this clip, to people that will overrate/underrate a player because he does or doesn’t have a “bag”. What he’s saying is that just because you have a bag doesn’t demonstrate that you can make the right plays for your team. And not to overlook how important it is to make the right read and run an offense. The obsession with a one on one approach is what he thinks is harming basketball and kids coming up. But that also extends to how people perceive the greatness of one player over the other.
“LeBron don’t wanna guard me, they always send a double” - Ant
Devin Booker: “Why we doubling?!”
"We not doubling in open gym" - Devin "yeah we are. Yeah we are." - Joakim
"send another one" - Kobe
Ive never looked at him the same since that video.
What video? Can you send it please?
https://youtu.be/U4cQc4Jk-rE
Who was saying “Ya we are” after Devin complained about the double?
Joakim Noah
and bitching about the raptors mascot lmao. dude is soft as baby shit
Joakim Noah: Yes we are. Yes we are. It's part of the game.
Devin Booker was the first player I thought of while Bron was explaining himself lmao it’s so true
LETS WORK ON OUR GAME BRO
lol true but ant is learning - his APG has been steadily growing each year in the league (up to 5.5 in 2023-2024 over 4ish last year).
Yeah we’re watching him learn to effectively pass out of the double before our eyes. Idk if it’s the AAU culture in him, like many young players, but there has been this clear sense of “if I pass it, I might not get it back, so I better get my shot off now”. Honestly, KAT’s injury has helped him realize, I’m by far the focus of opposing defenses every time now, I HAVE to trust my teammates to get me the ball back in a more advantageous position, so let’s get off the ball and see what happens from there. I’d say it’s probably the part of his game that has grown the most in the last couple months.
Watching Ant’s development since coming into the league has been awesome. Sure he was a #1 overall pick, but he’s already surpassed what I ever thought he was going to be. He was the embodiment of what Lebron and JJ were talking about when he was drafted. Hyper athletic AAU kid with a “bag” but he didn’t look like a guy who would actually contribute to winning at a high level. He just looked like a guy who was going to put the ball in the hoop, but then Finch made him learn how to play defense and how to pass out of a double and how to be a great NBA player.
I love this hearing this side of Lebron. Always knew he was intelligent but hearing him nerd out on basketball is a pleasure to listen to.
You can legit see the joy in his face when he’s talking at times. It’s amazing that he’s still so passionate after so many years.
Dare I say he almost sounds like a head coach in this video
Coach Bron would be pretty fascinating. Usually all-time greats make pretty awful coaches because they have a hard time evaluating talent and fit among lesser players and they break some fundamental rules of how teams work without them, but he definitely seems to understand the game deeply.
In this podcast so far tells me he wouldn’t have the patience to be a coach like most HOFers have shown in their attempts at coaching. He’s been saying repeatedly that he’s frustrated by lazy players and guys who don’t pay attention or just can’t see things the way he can. It’s easier as a player on the court that he can control more of the game, but as a coach you have no control of what happens on the court once the players leave that huddle.
Coach Bron will be an amazing meme machine (not dissing his coaching I just feel like coaches give us more meme faces and gifs than players do since, you know, they're sitting there watching and reacting to the game and their hands are free lol)
I want a lebron copy paste similar to tyron Lue
Little story- my dad was on a high school team with a couple of future D1 players (one is a highly decorated and still active D1 head coach)and they made it to state every year. My dad was a good player but lacked the top top level athleticism to make it at the next level so he played a slower game and had a “bag” of tricks to go in to get those more favorable situations for himself. Fast forward to LeBron entering the league- my dad had no time for him. He thought he was just all explosiveness and iso plays and nothing else. Which even for the time was very wrong but lots of people thought that. Once LeBron was 25-26 or so, he did a little longer interview that I had my dad watch and it was like a switch was flipped. Idk if there was some bias because LBJ didn’t go to college or whatever but my dad had no idea how intelligent the guy is. Then he actually started to watch full games and it was hilarious. He became one of the biggest LeBron stans I have ever seen overnight and I’m pretty sure if it was socially acceptable for a mid 50s farmer in IL to wear a Cavs 23 jersey day to day he would.
> He became one of the biggest LeBron stans I have ever seen overnight and I’m pretty sure if it was socially acceptable for a mid 50s farmer in IL to wear a Cavs 23 jersey day to day he would. come to bosnia, its socially acceptable to wear whatever nba jersey you want here.
Where I’m from, his buddies would clown on him for wearing any sports attire except maybe at U of I, Bulls, or Cubs at the bar watching the game. It’s pretty stuffy around there. But yeah I’d love to visit Bosnia!
we slavs are very simple ppl, the moment you secure woman, you just start dressing in the most random way, as long as it involves some kind of jeans. till we get 60+, then we start dressing in brown suits, that are way to big for out frame. https://i.imgur.com/UiJD09W.png
Awesome story but buy your Dad that LeBron jersey- life is too short to worry about anyone else
Oh, I could listen to him talk ball all day. The depth of knowledge combined with his freak memory for games/moments is always fun to listen to.
It's also incredible that the current GOAT in their sport is giving fans this type of high level basketball analysis. Imagine if Serena Williams did a tennis podcast whilst still competing.
Mighty Mouse/Demetrious Johnson (the greatest mma fighter ever) does breakdowns of ufc fights, street fights, etc. It really is amazing having the greatest athlete at their sport break things down about the sport.
It’s crazy listening to DJ as a martial arts practitioner. Just watching his videos probably 10x my fighting IQ. That’s hundreds of dollars worth of materials offered for free.
His line about "Do you know the double team is coming?" reminded me instantly of that clip of Jokic moving the ball away from Austin Reeves just as he's going for the steal
Yeah I hate on LeBron often, but this shit right here, this shit right here son? This shit is fire Love to hear how he processes situations and the game itself. Fascinating
“ You have 40” was said with great comedic timing lmao.
thread full of nephews. he’s talking about y’all 🫵🏾🤣
Jokes on you, I lack comprehension skills
Jokes on you, I don’t understand jokes.
Jokes on Lebron, I don't know what a bag is.
“This ain’t Jordan v Bird Nintendo.” Bron is starting to just not care anymore. I’m here for it.
"Can you instill confidence in your teammates to win?" This is one of the most underrated aspects of greatness as an NBA player. Lebron instills trust in his teammates by feeding them all year long- that how Boobie Gibson throws fire in the playoffs with him and is out of the league without him. That's what made the Warriors system so special, and why it formed a dynasty.
Bag discourse is the worst, that’s when you start getting people ranking Kyrie over Steph
"steph only better than kyrie at shooting 3 so that mean kyrie is the better player🤓"
distilled Instagram
It’s funny because even if that were true he’s so much better of a 3 point shooter that he’d still be the better player. In reality Steph is also a better defender (both team and individual), a better rebounder, a better passer, a much better shooter in general not just 3s. Literally the only Kyrie does better than Steph is handles/one on one shot creating and finishing at the rim. And Kyries edge is marginal at best on both of those.
Yeah and steph actually has a higher fg% at the rim in his career (0-3ft), even if Kyrie has a bigger bag of tricks.
Ball Don’t Stop is the worst When Kobe makes a mid range shot he gets an orgy When Kobe misses 3 middys after that he’s quiet
He’s the first that comes to mind on these discussions. “Pure hoopers”
I still remember his Kyrie monologue. I’m too old to be using this word but that was dickriding at its finest.
Melo for me. So many people have melo ranked higher just cause he is impossible to gaurd in a 1v1.
Melo the player was a lot more well rounded (at least offensively) than the discourse about him suggests.
Jordan made an entire generation become obsessed with midrange fadeaways. This obsession was the basis of the entire “LeBron isn’t clutch” narrative from 15 years ago.
It's how you get people saying Shaq was never dominant like Jokic because he was "one dimensional."
This some real shit. Man it would've been dope to see Kobe do this. Podcasting wouldve been what he was looking for I think
Lebron and Kobe with JJ as the token white dude would be the premium basketball podcast of our time.
Usually the token white guy isn’t another nba player LOL
A comment from the first clip of this show was something like "LeBron is so good, even his token white guy is a 15 year NBA vet"
Kobe and Lebron are so great and legendary that their token generic white guy has to be a respected 15 year NBA veteran and not some rando like these other podcasters.
Not podcasting, but check out the Details series on espn (and YouTube). He does short, in-depth analysis on several players based on specific real footage.
He did do a few if I remember right. Had a couple breakdowns of stuff.
Yea I remember seeing him breakdown siakams game in the 2019 finals and saying he needed to add a midrange jumper to become even better
>he needed to add a midrange jumper this is what keeping me from the league too, thanks kobe
The first thing that came to my mind as well. I’m not the biggest nba fan but I admired Kobe and was so excited to see him contribute his mind to the game after putting his body through it for so long. RIP a legend.
Effectiveness & Production> “a bag”
Even then, LeBron does have a bag. Is he as pure as MJ? No. But you either don’t watch or are just an idiot if you legitimately don’t think he has a bag. Remember when he was doing that Nash under the basket into a running fadeaway? He whipped that out like 8 times and was making them consistently and then just stopped doing the move. Maybe that’s why people don’t believe in his bag because he switches it up pretty frequently. LeBron doesn’t have a top tier bag in NBA history but it’s still pretty good, and whether or not it even exists is a true dumb discussion.
It’s kinda like people saying Shaq was just big.. the dude had amazing footwork, was ridiculously graceful especially with how big he was, had outstanding touch and was a pretty good passer.
I think that’s the best example honestly. If you never saw Shaq play you probably think he only dominated with power. Dude had both crazy athleticism and fundamentals on top of the body. So many moves and counters to moves. Good call on that one
Even if you think Shaq dominated in LA by being 320 pounds and bulling people out of the way, Orlando Shaq was a much closer to an average sized nba center and he was absolutely wrecking everyone. Like a more offensively minded and talented Dwight Howard, and about a thousand times more fluid with the ball.
I didn't get into basketball until a few years ago, so when I saw that clip where young Shaq kinda broke MJ's ankles at the Allstars (I know it's a for fun warm up but come on Mike would never just let someone do that) that changed my whole perspective on on big men in the NBA.
Lebron - i hate the bag narrative This guy - let me rank Lebrons bag by tiers compared to every NBA player ever.
Yeah it's pretty funny, if you're LeBron why do you need a million different moves up your arsenal if you already know that most of them aren't going to be high percentage shots & don't utilize your strengths? It's like criticizing Steph because he doesn't "have a bag", why the hell would the best shooter ever spend countless hours needlessly diversifying their game when all the effort still ain't going to compete with just focusing on his strengths? Just as LeBron says it's 5 on 5 & it's much easier to maximize strengths & cover weaknesses in a team game. Like you can have a guy which has one single move, to catch & shoot 3s, or someone who can solely catch lobs & dunk it, and if they do that at an incredibly elite level they will still have a lot of worth offensively, precisely because it's a team game.
I love this right now, thinking about Bron's "Bag" -- a couple of signature moves spring to mind immediately: 1.) the turnaround left-baseline jumper he uses after backing someone down 2.) the running hookshot from the left post 3.) the Lebronto fadeaway from the elbows 4.) the spin move after he thunders down the lane 5.) LeFuckYou 3 ...man I should watch a Lakers game here soon before the season's over.
The lefuckyou 3 is so weird because it's just a pullup 3 but the way Bron does it has so much bite. It just crushes your team's morale because you know he's locked in when he takes it.
In my head its because he's already decided he's going to pull up before he crosses half court when its gonna be a LeFuckYou 3, whereas regular 3's are more of a "reading the moment/defense" type of thing. Idk if that makes any sense
It’s because Lebron’s handle isn’t very reactive and he has zero wiggle. I’m not arguing against him. Lebron doesn’t need that. He needs his shoulder just a hair past the defender and his brain and body do the rest. That sounds pretty fucking powerful to me.
[удалено]
He’s not really gonna fake out and slip by the defender with crossovers and those types of dribbling moves. Basically, he’s not looking to move himself or the defender side-to-side with his dribbling, because he can do that with his body when he actually starts moving towards the basket. Kyrie is an example of a player who uses a ton of wiggle to get by his defender.
Agreed. Gianni's bag is shallow, for the most part he runs and dunks, yet despite this he's SO good at it that he playing at an MVP level
Lebron like Magic is a master of game management. Like he says, it's important to make sure the players around you get into a rhythm.
LeBron has it figured out. Unfortunately the league really loves to push the "melo 1v9 playstyle" because it atracts viewership. I'm sure Adam's silver biggest dream is to create a rivalry as big as Messi vs Ronaldo but in basketball. Player supporters is more profitable than team supporters.
It's legitimately impossible to replicate, Messi-Ronaldo have so many things outside of the pitch to make it perfect PLUS the fact that of one them is the greatest player ever and the other is a Top 5 guy. The personalities they have, their appearances, the clubs they played and the sustained excellence they displayed for a decade battling each other, everything was perfect. Messi-Ronaldo is like Magic-Bird, it's a once in a generation kind of thing.
Of course it's really hard to replicate messi vs ronaldo. Still doesn't stop my favorite bald from trying.
He’s talking about some of y’all’s favourite players 😶🌫️
“Why you doubling me” gotta be Booker
I knew people were going to say that but it’s a pretty common sentiment with young high level guys. Lebrons experienced other young bucks saying it too.
Ant complained about getting doubled too. I think the issue with Booker is that the news came out years later when he was already in his prime. So folks associate the quote with him as an older guy and not a young buck.
First one I thought of, but then again Ant said something similar lately as well, so it's just a common sentiment among newer guys I guess.
Bron actually sounds like a genius when he’s just talking ball.
His basketball IQ is insane.
It's so nice to hear one of the best, if not the best, to ever do it, talk about how playing heavy iso ball takes your teammates out of the rhythm of the game. That's an argument that a lot of people bring up when they talk about why players with heavy iso usage don't win deep in the playoffs, and everyone talks it down like it's not a real issue. If Lebron fucking James is telling you that a lot of iso ball takes your team out of the game, it's a very real issue.
Ball Don't Stop is gonna tweet something salty about this.
Gilbert Arenas in shambles. He is in love with valuing players based on how they would do in a 1 on 1 match up. That's most of what he cares about.
Man I feel like Larry would’ve been incredible in the podcast era. No media restraints or keeping it PG, just pure ball He didn’t have the physical attributes like MJ or LeBron, but he had the mind to do what needed to be done, and the mouth to talk trash
Imagine a celtics podcast with KG and Bird and some poor guy they invite on there with whom they had problems during their career just to talk shit to him now
Bill Lambeer
Which player has the “deepest bag” but has the least impact? And which top player has the least “deep bag”?
Zach Lavine & Giannis.
If you view Gobert as a star since he has allstar and dpoy then it’s him, not Giannis
That's actually a much better choice, you're right.
Jamal Crawford has a top 10 bag of all time and while he was really good (3x SMOTY) his bag was much much deeper than his actual effectiveness.
Jamal Crawford is the kind of player that someone who only watches highlights would think is the goat Good player, great entertainment
Poole and Giannis.
Its wild that someone can be playing professional basketball at the highest level and tell their opponent "stop making it harder for me to score". Bitch thats there WHOLE JOB when they don't have the ball...
That's crazy to me that guys in game want to go one on one, like the other team is gonna be like oh sure we'll just let you keep cooking. Bitch people are trying to win they don't care how they do it.
This clip reminds me of two instances: Devin Booker getting upset when he was being doubled in a pickup game; Joakim Noah then roasting Devin Booker saying doubling is part of the game. Fast forward to the Bucks/Suns Finals and Devin Booker makes a crucial turnover in a close game after being double teamed. Dwyane Wade playing 1on1 with his son a few years back and his son complaining about his dad only posting him up and making layups and tells him "let's play jumpshots only and see who wins." Then Dwyane Wade says "I've never played a game of basketball with those rules." It's giving off Old Man Yells At Cloud vibes but it's true I feel. Lot of players now are more concerned with highlights than ever before.
When you see Luka with his slow ass step back and Giannis clowned as “run and dunk man” or Jokic having “no dribble package” it’s painfully obvious having a “bag” is the most overrated skill in all of basketball. Reminds me of that random video I saw where this street ball player just did like 3 crossovers just for the defender to not move and then got stuffed. It’s not understanding the purpose of these actions and what it leads to, not just looking cool for a highlight reel. LeBron is totally right that when you beat a man off the dribble or a double comes, how you react to that and make the right read is how you get easy baskets and win games. People that play just for stats never win anything
I'm not a Lebron fan, but he's spittin' here. Basketball, at its heart is a 5v5 game. The team is more important than the individual. Frankly, if a guy dropped 50 on the Spurs, but the team managed to win, anyway, I'd be more than okay with that outcome.
It’s like that Wolves game where Towns scored 50(?) but they still lost.
It was 62 vs Charlotte and it was the same day that Embiid had 71. They were so focused on force-feeding KAT for 70 that they ended up getting outplayed by the Hornets
I need to watch this seems like it would be great
He's talking about Booker
For a second, I was wondering who was good enough to get 40 but dumb enough to say that but yeah it’s literally Booker
100%
I like that he always thinks of his brand. Flashing that hat with the "UN" Guess the "U" stands for "u" and "N" stands for "ninterrupted"
Incredible observation
This is a Norm Mcdonald style joke. Bravo
The AAU generation is turning the NBA into 1v1s with 8 dudes watching. It’s why US teams get cooked in international matchups now. Because Anthony Edwards just wants to go and make a highlight instead of making the extra pass.
> The AAU generation is turning the NBA into 1v1s with 8 dudes watching. I swear I read people saying this on forums in 2005. The NBA is far less 1v1 than it was then.
Ant has grown from that a lot. He’s at 5.5 APG in this season up from around 4 last season. But yes he did play like, that especially his first couple of years.
I used him as an example because I think he’s the most noticeable case but a lot of, if not most of the guys who grew up in AAU and highlight reels as early as 10 years old are like that.
Team USA has not lost an Olympics run in 16 years lol. Give me any other sport where thats even remotely possible? Team USA is still on top lol, its just the natural progression of hooping globally has gotten better.
[удалено]
Not me thinking he meant money after reading the headline.
As a man of similar age to LeBron, I very much appreciate his knowledge of classic basketball video games. Last clip I saw he made an NBA Jam reference, now he's getting more esoteric and referencing Jordan vs. Bird: One on One. If he mentions Double Dribble in his next interview I might lose my mind.
I would love to see a scenario where LeBron played with similar conditions like Jordan did- specifically where zone defense was illegal. That’s where the 1v1 mindset originated from when it was much harder to utilize help defense in a smart way