LeBron James has watched the NBA change right before his eyes. When he entered the league in 2003, basketball was much more physical, positions were clearly defined and it was almost unthinkable for a big man to spend much of a game away from the basket.
Today, teams push the pace and shoot threes, and even players taller than 6-foot-7 can bring the ball up and run the offense. It’s a massive shift, and LeBron has been at the center of it.
In a conversation prompted by a question from P.J. Tuckerthe four-time NBA champion looked back at how the game has evolved and how much the demands on players have changed.
LeBron James: “When I came into the league, everything was different”
When LeBron made his debut, the NBA still played a fairly traditional brand of basketball. Every player had a defined position, and teams relied heavily on physicality.
When I came into the league, the pace was much slower. You had a point guard, a shooting guard, a small forward, a power forward and a center. Positionless basketball didn’t exist yet
LeBron James
It wasn’t just about pace. The way teams were built was completely different, too.
You needed four or five really physical players who could handle contact. If you were especially skilled, it stood out right away because there was a lot less room to move
LeBron James
Then came Mike D’Antoni and Steve Nash’s Phoenix Sunsfollowed by the rise of players such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
The game began to speed up, three-pointers became increasingly important and rule changes helped open up the floor.
The ideal NBA build changed, too.
Back then, you had to have a certain amount of weight and strength to survive in the league. Today, you can be 6-foot-11, weigh 220 pounds and still play. There’s more space, more speed and even more skill
LeBron James
Today’s NBA? “It looks like chaos, but it isn’t”
For LeBron, one of the most interesting aspects of modern basketball is how quickly players have to read the game.
The ball moves quickly, offenses look to create an advantage right away and teams use every bit of space available. From the outside, it can look chaotic, but it isn’t.
Everybody thinks it’s chaos, but it’s controlled chaos. The players know exactly what’s happening, even when it looks like everything is out of control
LeBron James
It’s a very different NBA from the one LeBron knew at the start of his career. That’s precisely why it’s so hard to imagine what will happen in the years ahead.
Asked how the game will evolve nextJames didn’t try to make a prediction.
I don’t know. If you’d asked me in 2010 whether I could imagine basketball getting to this point, I don’t know if I could’ve answered
LeBron James
The NBA has changed, the players have changed and basketball has become a different sport. LeBron is still here. At this point, instead of asking him what the NBA will look like in the future, you might as well ask whether he’ll still be playing in it.