On January 9, Beijing time, in yesterday's Lakers' victory over the Eagles, Lakers star LeBron James played 36 minutes, 13 of 24 shots to get 32 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks, with these 4 steals, James's total career steals reached 2113, surpassing Alvin Robertson and rising to the 10th place in the historical steals list.
At the same time, according to data expert Justin Kubatko, James thus became the only player in history to rank in the top ten in the history of career total points (3rd), total assists (8th) and total steals (10th). And in the history of the NBA, no other player has been able to enter the top 30 of history at the same time in these three career statistics. This comparison proves once again that James is undoubtedly the most well-rounded player in NBA history.
In this regard, NBA celebrity and "smiling assassin" Isaiah Thomas also tweeted praise for James today. Thomas retweeted the media-released comparison of James' season averages at ages 17, 27 and 37, writing: "The greatest all-round player in history, let everyone know." James"
As a superstar in the history of the NBA, the "Smiling Assassin" Isaiah Thomas is recognized as Jordan's mortal enemy, he and his Pistons were once a big mountain that blocked Jordan's way forward, and Thomas also knows Jordan's greatness and strength better than anyone, but even after seeing Jordan's dominance, Thomas is still amazed by James's performance, which in itself is enough to show how good James's performance is now.
In fact, even at the age of 37, James still has not stopped evolving, this season he became the team's starting center for the first time, and played amazing efficiency, not only the offensive end to give, the defensive end is also quite good, today, a Lakers blogger tweeted to summarize James's strong defensive data this season, according to statistics, James's average of steals and blocks per game this season is 3.0 times, setting a career record. That is to say, playing center not only did not affect James's defensive data, but even allowed him to better play his defensive strength.
Earlier, a reporter also discussed this issue with James, who confidently said that no matter what position he played, he could contribute to excellent defense, and when asked whether being a center forward made it easier for him to steal or block, James said: "No. I was able to make steals and blocks in every position during my career, and it didn't matter. ”
Speaking about his defensive strategy when playing center, James said: "I just feel good, I try to take the initiative in many defensive rounds, rather than react passively. I watched a lot of video of my opponents' matches, trying to put myself in a defensive position of being ahead of the curve in many situations. On the defensive end, I always do a good job, I can reach out and steal, cut the ball with my hands, and cover it. I just did everything I could to help my teammates. ”
Strong players are always able to adapt their playing styles to different situations, and James' ease of playing in the center position is undoubtedly another proof of his all-round strength, he is a real player who can play from the first position to the fifth position, and perhaps in some respects, James is indeed inferior to Jordan, but he also has his own better place than Jordan.