LeBron James recently celebrated his 35th birthday by throwing a party and extending invites to the entire Lakers team. The players enjoyed their time, smoking cigars, feasting and laughing heartily. The private event, which required black-tie attire, was reported to be as festive as any post-Oscar celebration. Despite jokingly complaining about having to foot the bill for his own party, LeBron considered the money spent a worthwhile investment for the memorable fun and fellowship.
In other words, these very players have gained significantly from LeBron’s generosity in a different manner, particularly in how he handles them during game nights, from start to finish. To make it simple: if they are unguarded, they will receive the ball. The player who shelled out money for his party also assists his teammates by passing them the ball.
The assists this season are rising right along with his case for being the most complete player in NBA history. LeBron is pushing the limits of his ability to distribute the ball, which was remarkable even before 2019-20. His Laker mates are keeping their heads swiveling, realizing that a timely bounce pass or lob will come their way if they work hard enough to spring free.
“He’s enjoyable because you’re certain he’ll always locate you.”
Anthony Davis on LeBron’s passing
LeBron is leading the NBA in assists at 10.9 per game, the highest mark of his career (previous high: 9.1 in 2017-18), and is the only player averaging in double-figures so far this season. It’s extremely rare for a scorer. In most cases, players who routinely get 25 or so points don’t throw the ball — they ask for it. LeBron’s style of play, however, is far from routine.
His unselfish manner isn’t anything new; LeBron has always been a willing passer — even while playing mainly power forward — and the career numbers reflect that. He’s ninth all-time in assists (9,021) and will almost certainly pass Isiah Thomas (9,061) at No. 8 this season. The other seven ahead of LeBron (in order) are John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Mark Jackson, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and the still-active Chris Paul. Perhaps next season he’ll crack 10,000, especially if he remains in his current role and stays healthy.
Since opening night, LeBron has been the Lakers’ point guard. This comes somewhat as a surprise because the Lakers initially wanted to ease LeBron’s multitasking, especially coming off a season where he suffered his first significant injury and missed 22 games. They also happen to have Rajon Rondo.
In his first interview after accepting the job last summer, Coach Frank Vogel wasn’t initially keen on the idea of LeBron leading as the point man. However, after discussions with LeBron and his coaching staff, and especially in light of Rondo’s early season injury, Vogel decided that the Lakers would benefit most from having the ball in LeBron’s hands as frequently as possible.
There’s a hunch among some Lakers folks that LeBron will not only finish as the assists leader this season, but that he desperately wants the title. It would set him apart from other greats in that sense and give him a unique place in history. The only other unconventional assists leader was Wilt Chamberlain in 1967-68. Wilt wanted to shatter the perception of him being a selfish scorer. (While Wilt did compile more assists than anyone that season, he did not have the highest per-game average. Back then, the league back then recognized total assists instead of average, something that changed three seasons later.)
The only drawback is LeBron’s hike in turnovers — his 3.8 per game ranks sixth in the NBA. The Lakers will live with that because, more often than not, something positive happens when the play starts with LeBron.
LeBron’s passes not only hit their mark but also provide entertainment. His trademark passes are the cross-court bullets that reach teammates stationed behind the 3-point line in the corners, just in time for them to make open jump shots. LeBron is also known for taking risks for the sake of adding flair, often seen throwing bounce passes amidst traffic to a teammate making a cut towards the rim.
He can throw any pass… Therefore, I’m not stunned by his stats this season. He’s been doing it for years.”
Suns coach Monty Williams, on LeBron James
Yet the most effective pass usually ends up in the hands of Anthony Davis, and it’s not a coincidence that LeBron’s assists are up in his first season with Davis. Per NBA Advanced Stats, Davis has been the recipient of 25.4% of LeBron’s assists (102), more than double the No. 2 recipient (Danny Green, 17.6% and 44 assists). Last season, the player most targeted by LeBron was Kyle Kuzma (who is now a valuable reserve).
Right from the start, LeBron said one of his goals is to connect with Davis and make him feel comfortable. One way is to feed him whenever possible, if only to cement a connection with a player who suffered losing seasons in New Orleans and manipulated a trade to L.A. chiefly to play alongside LeBron.
“Davis said, ‘He’s enjoyable to be around since you know he’ll always track you down. That’s simply his nature.'”
LeBron says his goal is to make everyone comfortable, not just Davis, and elevate the play of L.A.’s role players. He’s had that gene almost from the time he first embraced the game. Not only is he a great passer, he’s a willing passer.
“When I was a kid, I was a bit better than some of my teammates,” he admitted. “My coach emphasized that it was more rewarding for me to help my teammates who struggled with dribbling or scoring to get an open shot. We won the championship and continued to win, which confirmed that it was the correct approach to the game.”
In LeBron’s rookie season — when he had the weakest supporting cast of his career — he averaged 5.9 assists. That number perhaps would’ve been greater with more accurate shooters around him. Still, that 5.9 apg is a career low. By comparison, Damian Lillard’s career average is 6.4 apg.
There were times in the last 16 years when LeBron was accused of being too unselfish, especially late in games. Even if it was the right basketball play to find the open man, critics demanded LeBron take the shot whenever the game was on the line. In the 2012 All-Star Game, Kobe Bryant playfully scolded LeBron for passing in the final seconds of a tight contest. Through it all, LeBron refused to change his mindset, then and now.
“When you really take a minute to consider it, he’s a significantly underrated passer,” Suns coach Monty Williams expressed. “It makes you wonder, how many other players in the history of basketball, standing at 6-8 or 6-9 and weighing 265 pounds, have been able to throw full-court passes straight from the dribble? In the current game, Kevin Love comes to mind with his stationary passing, but there’s no one else of that size who can pass straight off the dribble. There’s literally no type of pass that he can’t execute – lob, bounce, you name it, and all his passes hit the mark. So when I look at this season’s stats, I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s been doing this for quite a while.”
LeBron is the only player in history to be top 10 in scoring and assists and the only player to crack 33,000 points, 9,000 assists and 9,000 rebounds. Only five players — Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Jerry West, Tiny Archibald and Oscar Robertson — have both scoring and assist titles to their name. LeBron would be the sixth if this keeps up.
In a best-case scenario where he stays healthy and motivated, LeBron can pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time scoring leader and finish second to Stockton on the assists list. That would be a strong argument for being appointed as the game’s premier player.
Considering his size and actual position, LeBron can best be compared to Larry Bird in terms of passing skills. However, Bird’s accomplishments can be viewed as slightly more impressive because he played during an era when point guards monopolized the ball and were the designated quarterbacks. Unlike LeBron, Bird rarely handled the ball across midcourt, dominated it, or played as a point-forward. Mostly, his assists were instinctive and a result of spontaneous creativity within the flow of the game.
As LeBron grows older, moving towards the twilight of his career, his passing game is likely to remain strong and unaffected. This is a further testament to the possibility of LeBron continuing to excel past his 17th NBA season.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter .
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