5 times NBA players and coaches applauded LeBron James for his high basketball IQ
LeBron James has always garnered a lot of praise for his high basketball IQ in the NBA.
James' ability to keep track of his opponent's strengths and weaknesses has given him the edge over almost every opponent throughout his career. It's been a key reason why James is called the 'King' of the playoffs and has reached ten NBA Finals in 13 years.
Players and coaches from his team and opposition camps have never shied away from talking about the 4-time NBA MVP. On that note, here's a look at five occasions when LeBron James has been praised for his basketball IQ.
#5 Draymond Green and Steven Kerr applaud LeBron James' photographic memory
LeBron James is one of the few players in the history of the NBA who can narrate multiple plays of a game due to his picture-perfect photographic memory. The four-time champion has surprised reporters after recalling plays from a game as if it was being played in front of his eyes.
One such instance was during the 2018 NBA Playoffs. LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals that year. James spoke about the multiple sequences that took place towards the end of Game 1 of the series during a post-game conference.
Reporters present for that segment instantly started to clap at James' unbelievable memory. (The footage of the same can be viewed on the YouTube video link embedded below.)
The Golden State Warriors' head coach-player duo of Steven Kerr and Draymond Green were asked if they had seen footage of LeBron James recalling the sequence. Both Green and Kerr were completely astonished at how 'King James' narrated the sequence perfectly.
"Yeah that was impressive, that was very impressive" exclaimed Draymond Green.
"I think great players remember everything.. The best players generally remember everything and have the sharpest memories." said Steven Kerr.
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers battled in four straight NBA Finals between 2014 and 2017. Even though the Warriors won three times, the coaching staff and players of the opposing team had immense respect for LeBron James' individual performances during that run.
#4 DeMar DeRozan recalls LeBron James reminding his Toronto Raptors teammate of a play he forgot
LeBron James' basketball IQ is at a level where he can call out the plays of his opponents with ease. During a segment on 'The Old Man and The Three' podcast, DeMar DeRozan mentioned about one such instance.
One of DeRozan's teammates forgot a play the Raptors were running during a playoff game against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. James apparently told the Raptors player about the play they were supposed to run. Here's what DeRozan said:
"There was a play we were trying to run, when (one of our) teammates forgot the play and LeBron told him the play. Like that was some crazy sh*t."
It speaks volumes about the kind of mental preparation James has during playoff games. James faced the Raptors 14 times in the NBA Playoffs, and lost just twice, beating them in every series he has squared up against them.