What's the one biggest hole/weakness in LeBron's game?

[Im Still Ballin]

The mid-range game has always been something he has lacked. He developed the post-up game and the three-point shot, but he's never been solid on the long twos. He's shot like 37-38% on two-pointers from 10+ feet for his career.

His best mid-range shooting season was 2010-2011: around 44.5%. 2012-2013 was close to that. Like with his post-up game and three-point shooting, his mid-range shot peaked in Miami. Around 42.5% from 2010-2014. Outside of those four years? Not good. like 36-37%.

Not surprisingly, his best mid-range shooting playoff runs are 2008-2009 and 2017-2018. Those are the postseason runs where he looked the best. MJ-like. Around 47-48% in 2009 and 45% in 2018.

That in-between shot gave him a third level to his offensive game and unlocked his complete scoring and playmaking potential. Huge situational/clutch value.

[Im Still Ballin]

In comparison, Kobe shot around 42-43% for his career or so - on much higher volume. With many high-volume seasons around 45% roughly. And playoff runs above that. Bryant shot like 46% in the postseason from 2008-2012.

[Carbine]

His late game turnovers in big games.

You can point to different times in his career to a weakness. Shooting when he came into the league, post game until last year of Cleveland or so, mental side of things first year Miami.

After that, he didn't have something you could exploit.

[Full Court]

His biggest weakness is his weak mind. He more often than not blows it in the clutch. 4th quarter free throws are a huge weakness for him.

"LeShrivel."

[Akeem34TheDream]

Size where it matters

[rmt]

Mental - that 2011 Final up close here in Miami left an indelible stain - can never think of him like MJ. But his basketball game has come a LONG way - especially since 07 Finals.

[90sgoat]

His specific issue has been his inability to hit tough shots when tired in the clutch.

We did the clutch stats for him and compared to MJ and Kobe and he is a lot worse than both of them.

His overall issue and the reason for the specific issue, is like you write, that he can't hit a (midrange) jumper to save his life, never have.

He stopped shooting jumpers entirely in Miami, which was some analytics thing, which overall was probably both a good decision and a bad decision. A good decision, because he had D-Wade and Bosh to hit them and later Kyrie and Love, but a bad decision, because he should have kept shooting those jumpers and improved them like he improved his 3 point shot.

Also, if he had developed a better post game, like he showed some talent for in Miami, his lack of jumper would have been less of an issue.

[1987_Lakers]

I wouldn't say mid-range. He's pretty average in that department, he has years where he looks great from mid-range while other years where he is off. He is a career 39% shooter from mid-range, which is around league average. For me it is free throws.

[beasted]

I'm going to say there's two: Post game and free throws.

Although he's gone from no post game to a serviceable one, if he made a converted effort nobody can guard him there. He's too quick, strong, and has too good of passing to not wreak all types of havoc there.

But if Lebron were an 83%+ free throw shooter like most the other greats (MJ, KB, Magic, Bird, etc) that would make him basically unstoppable.

[FultzNationRISE]

His biggest 'weakness' is his unparalleled loyalty. To his coaches and to his franchise.

It's not necessarily a weakness because it does help elevate others to higher levels than they could achieve on their own, and that's supremely admirable. But Lebron could have achieved EVEN MORE if he was the type to kick a coach out or collude with other franchises in free agency, etc. But he's not and never has been.

[paksat]

His biggest 'weakness' is his unparalleled loyalty. To his coaches and to his franchise.

It's not necessarily a weakness because it does help elevate others to higher levels than they could achieve on their own, and that's supremely admirable. But Lebron could have achieved EVEN MORE if he was the type to kick a coach out or collude with other franchises in free agency, etc. But he's not and never has been.

lol this troll...

he's a stat padder, reminds me of chris paul but a way more annoying version of him. That particular flaw is a poison to a team in different ways

mechanically I would say that he never reformed his jump shot worth a shit. He's always had that retarded looking shot. Jordan's jumper in the 80s was pretty ugly, by the early 90s he had the smoothest looking mid range shot ever.

his obsession to want to be compared to jordan doesn't help him either. He's much closer to magic than jordan in his style of play and he refuses to accept it.

[3ba11]

He should start at point guard and should've done so his entire career. That's the secret

This would've yielded better teams and more titles because his ball-dominance is normal at point guard..

But instead, he starts at forward, so he's actually a 2nd point guard on the floor (a 2nd ball-dominator).. These 2 point guard lineups have major chemistry issues such as bad fit with the other ball-handler (ingram, hughes wade, westbrook, d-lo etc), while also giving teammates less hold-time and assists then playing in traditional 1-point guard lineups.. Lower assists for teammates yields low TEAM assists that gets stomped on the championship level.

In addition to the weaker brand of ball and chemistry yielded by his skillset of frontcourt ball-dominance, this abnormal ball-dominance imposes spot-up roles that stall young players, thereby needing ready-made stars to win (can't win organically).

Ultimately, the rim is fixed at 10 feet, so there's a finite aspect to the game in that a player can be "too tall" (tacko fall) or "too small" (ish poster)

In Lebron's case, it isn't optimal to have a player his size dominating the ball unless they start at PG.

[1987_Lakers]

Weaknesses from other all time greats

Magic - Shooting (early in his career), defense
Bird - Man defense
MJ - 3 point shooting
Shaq - FT shooting, defense could have been better with a man his size
Hakeem - Passing could have been better
Russell - Scoring, FT shooting
Wilt - More of a "Me" player, FT shooting
Duncan - Never really an "elite" scorer
Curry - Defense was "meh"
Kareem - Defense and rebounding declined significantly as he aged.
Kobe - Took lots of dumb shots

[Hey Yo]

lol this troll...

he's a stat padder, reminds me of chris paul but a way more annoying version of him. That particular flaw is a poison to a team in different ways

mechanically I would say that he never reformed his jump shot worth a shit. He's always had that retarded looking shot. Jordan's jumper in the 80s was pretty ugly, by the early 90s he had the smoothest looking mid range shot ever.

his obsession to want to be compared to jordan doesn't help him either. He's much closer to magic than jordan in his style of play and he refuses to accept it.

LOL @ comparing him to Magic. He had no jumper at all and didn't play defense worth a shit.

Yes, LeBron isn't comparable to MJ. He didn't quit the league 2x to rest.

[3ba11]

MJ - 3 point shooting


When did MJ shoot below today's standard from three when he had today's volume?

There are no examples of MJ shooting below today's standard when he had today's volume (3+ attempts)..

Specifically, from 85-93', he shot 36.4% in games that he had 3+ attempts and this includes a season of 38% (1990), and he also has 150 attempts in the playoffs at 39% for series with 3+ attempts (regular line).

So again, there are no examples of MJ shooting below today's standard when he had today's volume,.. So since MJ shot 36-39% when he had today's volume and this was WITHOUT practice, he would easily shoot 40% or more WITH practice and be one of the best shooters in the game.. Anytime he wanted to shoot threes, he was breaking Finals records for 3's and shrugging that this was possible in the game of basketball (30 years later it's standard)

[1987_Lakers]

When did MJ shoot below today's standard from three when he had today's volume?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjukb2NttM&t

[3ba11]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjukb2NttM&t


3-POINT EFFICIENCY FOR REGULAR SEASON GAMES WHERE MJ HAD 3+ ATTEMPTS:

1985..... 4-18
1986...... 3-6
1987...... 5-22
1988...... 1-3
1989...... 16-49
1990...... 75-187
1991...... 11-30
1992...... 13-39
1993...... 68-185
__________________________
total....... 196-539 (36.4%)



3-POINT EFFICIENCY FOR PLAYOFF SERIES WITH 3+ ATTEMPTS (HIGHLIGHTED BELOW):


https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-18-2023/rNUkaK.gif

53-135 (39.2%)






From 85-93', Jordan shot 36.4% on threes in games that he had 3+ attempts (539 attempts), and 39% in series with 3+ attempts (regular line only) - aka there's no record of MJ shooting poorly at today's volumes.

Since MJ always shot well at today's volumes despite no practice, he would be elite in today's game WITH practice... It's intuitive that 36-39% with no practice translates to over 40% WITH practice in today's game.
'
This is a clear demonstration that MJ would shoot well in today's game - he became the greatest 2-point jumpshooter ever due to goat form and practice, so he would do the same from threes and be one of the best shooters in today's game among high-producing players

[SouBeachTalents]

His 3 biggest weaknesses

1. Not an elite midrange shooter as OP indicated.

2. Never been a great FT shooter.

3. The one I think has been the costliest to him, his mentality/aggressiveness at the end of games. Even after he finally broke through in 2012 he was always wildly inconsistent on his approach to crunch time. There are times, like the Warriors game last week, where he's guns blazing, aggressive, attacks the basket, even calmly knocks down 2 FT's to win it. But there are far too many instances he is passive to the detriment of the team in those situations, and I think they all tie into the first 2 weaknesses that were listed. I think his lack of confidence in hitting the contested midrange or hitting FT's causes him to lose his assertiveness at the end of games.

I'm not an advocate of the Kobe style either, the hero ball jack up a long 2 over a double team and not even look to distribute the ball, but I would've liked to have seen LeBron be more assertive in 3 specific moments.

1. End of Game 3 2017 Finals. Iirc he didn't score over the final 3 minutes, and passed up what would have been a decent look over Dray at the rim with 5 fouls to Korver in the corner.

2. End of Game 1 2018 Finals. What kills me in this sequence is he was in the midst of one of the greatest games of his career, and he doesn't even attempt to score the basket, he just stands there with the ball above his head for several seconds against a much shorter defender in Curry before dumping it off to Hill.

3. End of Game 5 2020 Finals. He was on absolute fire in a duel with Butler, and instead of taking the last shot, possibly a midrange jumper, which he had been nailing all night, he drives to the basket and dumps it off to an ice cold Danny Green who misses it.

I want to clarify, I 100% support making the right basketball play, hitting the open man, playing team basketball, not playing hero ball, and you could absolutely argue he made the right play on all 3 decisions. But imo with the way he had been playing, I think it would have been in the teams best interest for him to take the final shot in those situations as opposed to role players.

One last interesting observation I've picked up on LeBron, when he has time to think about the decision at the end of games, he almost always passes it to a teammate. On the flipside, look up any of his playoff GW's, the vast majority of the time, if not literally every time, he was forced to shoot the ball with very little time left on the clock, so it seems like he can be susceptible to overthinking if given too much time.

[coin24]

Letiny has SDS

[3ba11]

.
Mental strength


Lebron has always needed a sure thing like $100 million before he ever dribbled a basketball (generational wealth before proving himself) and then he was allowed to hand-pick opposing franchise players to team up with (guaranteed resume).. Anything that wasn't a sure thing or anything that required struggle resulted in massive choke 2010 2nd Round quit-job, 2011 Finals, 2014 quit-job, 2009 historic upset loss (7 TO in critical 4th quarter and OT - this was the 1st big choke of his career) and many more...

He only shoots 37% on game-winners in the playoffs and 0% on game-winners in the Finals (0-10 on game-tying or go-ahead shots on the last possession of Finals game, so he's never scored on last possession of 1-possession game in Finals)

[Phoenix]

One last interesting observation I've picked up on LeBron, when he has time to think about the decision at the end of games, he almost always passes it to a teammate. On the flipside, look up any of his playoff GW's, the vast majority of the time, if not literally every time, he was forced to shoot the ball with very little time left on the clock, so it seems like he can be susceptible to overthinking if given too much time.

Good observation, I've thought the exact same. Most, if not all, of his notable game winners were basically when he had to react instinctively instead of having too much time to survey the floor where he's probably doing this:

https://media1.tenor.com/m/iKq0McbAqCMAAAAC/math-zach-galifianakis.gif

That's why the 2018 playoff run up until game 1 of the finals was among his best, capped off by two gamewinners that both required he act quickly:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srrkjcL6KZQ&ab_channel=NBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgAcw793Xg&ab_channel=NBA

In both of those cases, if he had 5-10 extra seconds on the clock it wouldn't surprise me if he looked to pass first.

[3ba11]

Good observation, I've thought the exact same. Most, if not all, of his notable game winners were basically when he had to react instinctively instead of having too much time to survey the floor where he's probably doing this:

https://media1.tenor.com/m/iKq0McbAqCMAAAAC/math-zach-galifianakis.gif

That's why the 2018 playoff run up until game 1 of the finals was among his best, capped off by two gamewinners that both required he act quickly:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srrkjcL6KZQ&ab_channel=NBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgAcw793Xg&ab_channel=NBA

In both of those cases, if he had 5-10 extra seconds on the clock it wouldn't surprise me if he looked to pass first.


Indeed, and the gap between Lebron's regular efficiency in the playoffs (50%) and his efficiency on game-winners (37%) represents his choke factor, which is about 13 percentage points.. However, his Finals efficiency on game-winners is 0%, so this is a 50 percentage points of choke factor.. His clutch-time efficiency in the playoffs (last 5 within 5) is 40%, so that's 10 points of choke factor.

Otoh, Jordan's choke factor was virtually zero because his regular efficiency compared to his efficiency on game-winners or clutch-time efficiency are all the same at 50%, while his Finals efficiency on game-winners is also 50%.

This is a remarkable contrast - it's like we're comparing the goat clutch player to one of the historic chokers of our time

[FilmyCogTurner]

His 3 biggest weaknesses

1. Not an elite midrange shooter as OP indicated.

2. Never been a great FT shooter.

3. The one I think has been the costliest to him, his mentality/aggressiveness at the end of games. Even after he finally broke through in 2012 he was always wildly inconsistent on his approach to crunch time. There are times, like the Warriors game last week, where he's guns blazing, aggressive, attacks the basket, even calmly knocks down 2 FT's to win it. But there are far too many instances he is passive to the detriment of the team in those situations, and I think they all tie into the first 2 weaknesses that were listed. I think his lack of confidence in hitting the contested midrange or hitting FT's causes him to lose his assertiveness at the end of games.

I think the reason he was able to ice those two free throws was because he hit that fadeaway on the left side of the court a few moments befire. Kudos for making the shot, it actually looked fluid for once but if it wasn't for that he would have been his usual clunky self.

And his biggest weakness which is at the same time his greatest strength is his physique. Which leads to OPs point of no midrange game. The lack of footwork and agility prevents Bron from being a successful midrange player. Jordan/Kobe could bend, twist, lean, hang, double pump.. you name it and still knock down the contested jumper. Bron looks like a dude with wooden shoes on his feet. Not ideal for your supposed "closer".

[999Guy]

Being a 6'8 260 pound average shooter that needs to dribble the ball to be most effective.

Not ideal.

Amazing player but I think you can build superior teams around inferior players. But only slightly inferior. I'm not talking Paul George here.

[Axe]

lol this troll...

he's a stat padder, reminds me of chris paul but a way more annoying version of him. That particular flaw is a poison to a team in different ways

mechanically I would say that he never reformed his jump shot worth a shit. He's always had that retarded looking shot. Jordan's jumper in the 80s was pretty ugly, by the early 90s he had the smoothest looking mid range shot ever.

his obsession to want to be compared to jordan doesn't help him either. He's much closer to magic than jordan in his style of play and he refuses to accept it.


LOL @ comparing him to Magic. He had no jumper at all and didn't play defense worth a shit.

Yes, LeBron isn't comparable to MJ. He didn't quit the league 2x to rest.
Two buffoons from the alt right mafia arguing who's a better goat over the other. :roll:

[Full Court]

The biggest hole/weakness in Axe's posting is his abysmally low IQ.

:lebronamazed:

[Axe]

Imagine being a redneck mongoloid who can't stop feeling sorely butthurt about whatever i say, even though it's not even related to him at all. :confusedshrug: :roll:

https://c.tenor.com/3XnPy3tL63oAAAAC/tenor.gif

[StrongLurk]

Lebron's biggest weakness is still perimeter shooting/free throw shooting. It's the same problem he's had his whole career. He's pretty much an average at best shooter and a below average free throw shooter.

With that being said, Bron is still clearly the GOAT and best player of all time.

[FKAri]

Bron is still clearly the GOAT and best player of all time.

Arguably? Sure. Clearly?


https://media1.tenor.com/m/YMHVYtsGkRsAAAAC/ah-hell-nah-no-way.gif

[Airupthere]

Aside from perimeter and FT shooting, and inconsistent aggressiveness at the end of games. I think it is his being too conscious of whatever narrative he is trying to come up with rather than just having pure desire to compete. I think he considers public opinion or his image too much that he does not have pure disregard for noise and just focus on the game. MJ, Kobe, even Rodman, I think they just plainly wanted to compete and win.

[Wally450]

FT shooting, mid range shooting and 3 point shooting to an extent.

So, in a way, his shooting overall is a weakness of his.

[Full Court]

Imagine being a redneck mongoloid who can't stop feeling sorely butthurt about whatever i say, even though it's not even related to him at all. :confusedshrug: :roll:


^Bitch fit. :roll:

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FMctANWF ymbUJCmYtb0%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=b76106467ccf77a672fe2275b3e8dd37deeb54a337c5b8 55e28a3a67bdf70d26&ipo=images

[paksat]

LOL @ comparing him to Magic. He had no jumper at all and didn't play defense worth a shit.

Yes, LeBron isn't comparable to MJ. He didn't quit the league 2x to rest.

I know it's pointless to argue with you trolls, but the fact this video is THIS long with THIS many sequences is laughable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wmhk45t7t4&t=600s&ab_channel=KobeBryant

I compared him to magic because they're both pass first distributors who excel more than anyone in the open court

no ones gonna be talking about dat dere lebron james defense once he retires, he picked and chose his spots for it. It's fine if you want to extend your career, but don't get irritated when people notice it.

[Duffy Pratt]

I know it's pointless to argue with you trolls, but the fact this video is THIS long with THIS many sequences is laughable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wmhk45t7t4&t=600s&ab_channel=KobeBryant

I compared him to magic because they're both pass first distributors who excel more than anyone in the open court

no ones gonna be talking about dat dere lebron james defense once he retires, he picked and chose his spots for it. It's fine if you want to extend your career, but don't get irritated when people notice it.

People say he’s a pass first distributor, yet he averages more shots per game over his career than any other active player (tied with ‘pass first” Donavan Mitchell). He’s taken more shots per game than Kobe Bryant. The other currently active highest volume shooters are Durant, Booker, Lillard, and Irving. LeBron is almost 1 shot/game above those guys, who no-one would describe as pass first. The narrative is about him being unselfish, perhaps to a fault. But the numbers say the opposite.

[Axe]

Arguably? Sure. Clearly?


https://media1.tenor.com/m/YMHVYtsGkRsAAAAC/ah-hell-nah-no-way.gif
Lol. (https://i.ibb.co/hX34jLs/IMG-20221001-103220.jpg)

[Full Court]

Lebron's biggest weakness is one shared by his hard core fans. Chronic loser. :confusedshrug:

[Axe]

I know it's pointless to argue with you trolls, but the fact this video is THIS long with THIS many sequences is laughable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wmhk45t7t4&t=600s&ab_channel=KobeBryant

I compared him to magic because they're both pass first distributors who excel more than anyone in the open court

no ones gonna be talking about dat dere lebron james defense once he retires, he picked and chose his spots for it. It's fine if you want to extend your career, but don't get irritated when people notice it.
Tbf, he doesn't really have to do anything significant for the clueless haters to bring him up in their pathetic everyday lives. Just imagine how completely bored they'll become once he finally retires. (https://i.ibb.co/gDsySW3/IMG-20230603-203842.jpg)

[RogueBorg]

Lebron's greatest weakness is that he disappears at the end of games. He's been doing it his entire career.

[Duffy Pratt]

Lebron's greatest weakness is that he disappears at the end of games. He's been doing it his entire career.

Not entirely true. Only at the end of games where the outcome is still undetermined. He steps it up bigly at the end of blow-outs, in either direction. Stat padding is one of his greatest strengths.

[Full Court]

Lebron's greatest weakness is that he disappears at the end of games. He's been doing it his entire career.

Can you imagine being a fan of a guy who everyone calls "LeShrivel"?

:roll: