"I think the guy really is like a basketball genius" - NBA analyst compares LeBron James to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird
Bill Simmons of The Ringer went on his podcast to praise LeBron James' basketball knowledge.
In his 20th season in the league, James has emerged to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game. He is known for his basketball IQ and is still performing at All-Star levels.
James is one of the rare talents who can playmake as a point guard and also has the size to post up any defender. He is one of the best passers ever and analyzes the court with elite vision.
“I think the guy really is like a basketball genius,” said Simmons.
Simmons is a big Celtics fan and lover of the legendary Larry Bird. He went on to compare LeBron to Larry Legend himself.
“I think Magic was, Bird was, I think Jokic might be too, I don't know if he's a sense of the moment kind of big picture levitating above games like those guys but I think there's like a real genius with how those guys approach basketball,” said Simmons.
Not only is LeBron James amazing on the floor, he is also a one-of-a king athlete at maintaining his body. He has played at least 65 games in 14 of his first 15 seasons. Not to mention he played 275 playoff games so far in his career, which is more than most people’s NBA careers.
“If LeBron can make the finals again and keep his body, you know if he can just even keep his body healthy and productive and efficient with how old he is and how many miles is that I think it'd be one of the great accomplishments."
LeBron James recorded his 146th career 25-5-5 playoff game.
That's now exactly twice as many as any other player in NBA playoff history.
Michael Jordan is 2nd with 73 such games. https://t.co/pv3dy9pJlG
LeBron James has shown no signs of slowing down. He logged a whopping 43 minutes in Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors in the Western conference semifinals on Tuesday.
LeBron James is 3rd all time in minutes
Simmons expressed how dumbfounding LeBron’s longevity is.
“It's really f*cking bonkers like he's over 60,000 minutes and he's hurt you know and we just kind of take it for granted because he looks the same as LeBron,” said Simmons.
James is third all-time in minutes in NBA/ABA history. He trails Karl Malone by 758 minutes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the record with 57,446 minutes, 3,352 minutes ahead of LeBron.
LeBron James will add to his total as the Lakers continue their playoff run. He is under contract for one more season and has a player option for the following year. The 38-year-old has said before he will try to stay in the league if there is an opportunity to play with his son Bronny James. Bronny will be eligible for the NBA in 2024 at the earliest.