While LeBron James is still playing at a high level in his record 23rd NBA season, there has been some minor slippage of his overall ability. His ability to put up roughly 25 points and five to seven rebounds and assists per game may be intact, but the days of him consistently being the best player on the floor ended a few years ago.
With the arrival of Luka Doncic in February, James has been conserving his energy for the Los Angeles Lakers more than ever. Coming into this season, there was a lot of talk that he needed to accept being the third offensive option, and when the team has been healthy, there’s a strong argument that he has been exactly that.
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While some feel James is down to being the Lakers’ third option because of Doncic’s arrival and the emergence of Austin Reaves as a borderline superstar, former NBA coach Sam Mitchell took things a step further. During an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Mitchell said that James would be the third option these days on any team he plays on, and that even on the Washington Wizards, James wouldn’t be the first option.
The Wizards have the Eastern Conference’s second-worst record at 6-23 and don’t have a single player averaging 20 points per game.
“This is what LeBron doesn’t understand, it hasn’t sunk in. Whatever team you go to, you’re the 3rd option. You’re not going to a team when you’re the 1st option anymore. If you went to the Washington Wizards, you would still not be the number 1 option.”
Overall, James is averaging 20.2 points, 6.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds a game so far this season, and in his last seven contests, he has put up 25.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and six assists per game while shooting 53.3% from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range.
He hasn’t asserted himself much in a couple of the Lakers’ recent blowout losses, but it looks like he still has much of the physical ability he has always possessed.
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Perhaps he has quietly accepted that he can no longer be the top offensive option on a team for an entire season without paying the price. Throttling back like that should increase the likelihood that he will avoid a major injury and be able to put forth big performances on demand come playoff time.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former NBA coach: LeBron would be third scoring option on any team
