No other player in the NBA possesses the kind of IQ and elite basketball skills as a combination as LeBron James does. Approaching age 40, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar may have lost a step, but his intelligence is there for everyone to see. Former player Jeff Teague revealed that James’ ability to understand teams and schemes was equally good a decade ago as it is now.
Teague was speaking on the Club 520 podcast along with his panel members. When asked why his 2015 Atlanta Hawks could not reciprocate their regular season form into an NBA title, he said;
Cause of Bron. I swear to God, All-Star, he told me. We swept them in the regular season, beat them by 25 every game. He came to me, and he was like, ‘I figured y’all out.’ I said, ‘You figured us out?’
Jeff Teague said
Teague’s revelation shows that LeBron James almost always possessed incredible IQ. He used that IQ to dissect the 2015 Hawks and sweep them in the Eastern Conference Finals that season.
The Atlanta Hawks were the 2nd best team in the NBA that season. They also swept the Cleveland Cavaliers tup until the All-Star game. As per the former point guard, James used those defeats to figure out how the Hawks played their way to the top of the East.
Jeff Teague says LeBron told him, ‘I figured y’all out’ months before sweeping Hawks in 2015 ECF:
“I swear to God, All-Star, he told me—we swept them in the regular season, beat them by 25 every game. He came to me, and he was like, ‘I figured y’all out.’… I said, ‘You figured… pic.twitter.com/7Wt3JeIEcV
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 4, 2024
Armed with that knowledge, James and his Cavaliers defeated Jeff Teague and the Atlanta Hawks in four straight games. Teague even explained how the now 39-year-old was able to counter their schemes. When he saw the plays the Cleveland Cavaliers ran, he knew it was over.
LeBron James relied on IQ to win Paris Olympics MVP
The same IQ was on full display at the Paris Olympics. Team USA was packed with players who were individual stars, with only a handful who had played together. Even then, the lineups did not exploit that chemistry. They relied on the brilliance of their players to bail them out of any situation.
LeBron James did bail them out with his play in the friendlies. But when the Paris Olympics started, the rest of the countries resorted to the more physical, scheme defined basketball that is prevalent in FIBA competitions. The NBA stars are not used to that style of play, less so when considering that the other teams have been playing that style with the same players over a period of time.
That is where LeBron James brought in his high IQ game management skills. He did not put up elite numbers in any one game but continued to do the necessary to keep his team in a position to win. That ultimately landed him the MVP award.
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